What happens when a wild baby orca tries to befriend people?
SAVING LUNA is the true story of Luna, the lone orca of Nootka Sound. The film has travelled the world's film festivals, and has played on the big screen across Canada, from Halifax to Victoria. Now this multi-award-winning film, which was first commissioned by CBC Newsworld's THE LENS, is making its broadcast premiere in Canada.
If you missed LUNA on the big screen, grab some popcorn at home and tune in to CBC Newsworld this Sunday, April 5.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Saving Luna in Sidney
SAVING LUNA
A film by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm
Opens Friday, January 16, 2009
Star Cinema
9842 3rd Street, Sidney, BC
Saving Luna has travelled the world’s film festivals, and now it’s coming home for its Vancouver Island theatrical premiere.
If you care about orcas, animals, independent film, or just fine entertainment, please join us at Saving Luna.
Come on out this weekend to the Star Cinema and meet director Michael Parfit, who will attend all weekend screenings.
January 16-22
Nightly 7:15
Saturday and Sunday 1:15 and 3:30
Tuesday 2:15
Rated G
www.savingluna.com
PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES
Thanks and see you at the movies!
Suzanne Chisholm
Mountainside Films, Sidney
tel: 1.250.217.7573
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Saving Luna in Vancouver
Saving Luna the Film opens in Vancouver
Where: RIDGE THEATRE VANCOUVER
When: Friday, December 5 at 4:00 pm until
Thursday, December 11 at 9:00 pm
Saving Luna: a touching tale about humans' relationship to marine mammals
By Katherine MonkDecember 6, 2008
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Photograph by : From Saving Luna/Handout
VANCOUVER - It's a story so entirely tragic and nauseatingly sad, that some viewers may look at Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit's movie about Luna - the lone Orca who tried to befriend humans on B.C.'s Nootka Sound - as an experience too depressing to relive.
After all, it's not like the three-year saga didn't get ample media coverage when it first unfolded as everyone from First Nations oral historians, to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to schoolchildren across the province found themselves snagged in the gill net of public opinion.
Whether you loved or hated the idea of an orca seeking human company, the story resonated across generational lines and tugged at something deeper, perhaps even primal, in the human psyche.
Because Parfit and Chisholm explore this psycho-spiritual element to the strange encounter, Saving Luna is more than a simple retelling of a very sad marine mammal tale. It's a thoughtful and often provocative exploration of humanity's larger relationship to the natural world.
It's also deeply personal.
Co-director and narrator Parfit tells us in the opening frames that he and his partner Chisholm intended to stay in Nootka Sound for a mere three weeks after they were asked to write a story about the little killer whale who refused to leave.
The veteran team, with several National Geographic projects under their belt, imagined they would be able to keep their professional distance and remain objective observers in the denouement.
Yet, after three years covering the story and moving into the community, Parfit and Chisholm crossed the line and became participants in the drama. They literally let Luna into their hearts and minds, as everyone around them picked sides.
Casual sailors were frightened by the orca's love of nudging boats. First Nations people saw the whale as the reincarnation of their ancestral chief. And fishers swore to put a bullet in the whale's blowhole when no one was looking.
As the tensions swirled, the federal government found itself unable to come up with a consistent plan. At one point, a DFO representative says the only humane thing to do is ignore the whale for his own good, but the policy was impossible to enforce.
Despite the apparent goodness of their intention to help the whale, DFO looked ill-prepared and wishy-washy - and given the department's history of species culling (this is the same department that once mounted a giant knife to the prow of vessels to cut BC's now non-existent basking sharks in two), as well as the controversial idea of live marine mammal capture - there's little doubt as to who comes off as the central villain in the piece.
DFO probably had the most power to help Luna, but red tape, egos, jurisdiction and a growing media circus prevented the creation of a comprehensive and workable policy.
Moreover, other specialists in cetacean behaviour were full of doubts about the establishment school of thought, and began to question previous assumptions about why some whales want to hang out with us landlubbing two-leggeds.
As Parfit and Chisholm watched the "tug-of-whale" unfold, their central focus was always Luna, and watching him pulled in one direction to the next pushed them into an emotional corner.
Their hearts were aching for the whale, and one day, when Luna came up to greet Parfit, he decided to break the law - and his own code of journalistic objectivity - and actually look into the eye of the orca. He even stretched his hand into the icy waters of Nootka Sound to stroke the creature.
When Parfit describes the moment on film, and tells us about the sensation of touching Luna's warm skin in the cold ocean, it sends a shiver down your spine because the connection between man and creature is suddenly undeniable.
Along with breathtaking cinematography, the filmmakers talk about the web of life, interconnectedness and the pitfalls of anthropomorphism. More than anything, they ask us to consider the "wall between humans and the natural world" in the hopes we may one day renegotiate the existing contract and see ourselves as an inherent piece of the puzzle, instead of removing ourselves intellectually from the world of "beasts."
From what this movie tells us, the animals have far more to teach us than we could possibly teach them. And little Luna, whose life came to a violent end after an encounter with a tug boat propeller, may have offered us the most valuable lesson of all by making us care about a life so different - and yet so strangely similar - to our own.
kmonk@canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Previous
Next
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Photograph by : From Saving Luna/Handout
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Luna and humans make close contact.
The marine mammal raised questions about our relationship to other mammals.
Showing off Luna's pearly whites.
Where: RIDGE THEATRE VANCOUVER
When: Friday, December 5 at 4:00 pm until
Thursday, December 11 at 9:00 pm
Saving Luna: a touching tale about humans' relationship to marine mammals
By Katherine MonkDecember 6, 2008
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Photograph by : From Saving Luna/Handout
VANCOUVER - It's a story so entirely tragic and nauseatingly sad, that some viewers may look at Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit's movie about Luna - the lone Orca who tried to befriend humans on B.C.'s Nootka Sound - as an experience too depressing to relive.
After all, it's not like the three-year saga didn't get ample media coverage when it first unfolded as everyone from First Nations oral historians, to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to schoolchildren across the province found themselves snagged in the gill net of public opinion.
Whether you loved or hated the idea of an orca seeking human company, the story resonated across generational lines and tugged at something deeper, perhaps even primal, in the human psyche.
Because Parfit and Chisholm explore this psycho-spiritual element to the strange encounter, Saving Luna is more than a simple retelling of a very sad marine mammal tale. It's a thoughtful and often provocative exploration of humanity's larger relationship to the natural world.
It's also deeply personal.
Co-director and narrator Parfit tells us in the opening frames that he and his partner Chisholm intended to stay in Nootka Sound for a mere three weeks after they were asked to write a story about the little killer whale who refused to leave.
The veteran team, with several National Geographic projects under their belt, imagined they would be able to keep their professional distance and remain objective observers in the denouement.
Yet, after three years covering the story and moving into the community, Parfit and Chisholm crossed the line and became participants in the drama. They literally let Luna into their hearts and minds, as everyone around them picked sides.
Casual sailors were frightened by the orca's love of nudging boats. First Nations people saw the whale as the reincarnation of their ancestral chief. And fishers swore to put a bullet in the whale's blowhole when no one was looking.
As the tensions swirled, the federal government found itself unable to come up with a consistent plan. At one point, a DFO representative says the only humane thing to do is ignore the whale for his own good, but the policy was impossible to enforce.
Despite the apparent goodness of their intention to help the whale, DFO looked ill-prepared and wishy-washy - and given the department's history of species culling (this is the same department that once mounted a giant knife to the prow of vessels to cut BC's now non-existent basking sharks in two), as well as the controversial idea of live marine mammal capture - there's little doubt as to who comes off as the central villain in the piece.
DFO probably had the most power to help Luna, but red tape, egos, jurisdiction and a growing media circus prevented the creation of a comprehensive and workable policy.
Moreover, other specialists in cetacean behaviour were full of doubts about the establishment school of thought, and began to question previous assumptions about why some whales want to hang out with us landlubbing two-leggeds.
As Parfit and Chisholm watched the "tug-of-whale" unfold, their central focus was always Luna, and watching him pulled in one direction to the next pushed them into an emotional corner.
Their hearts were aching for the whale, and one day, when Luna came up to greet Parfit, he decided to break the law - and his own code of journalistic objectivity - and actually look into the eye of the orca. He even stretched his hand into the icy waters of Nootka Sound to stroke the creature.
When Parfit describes the moment on film, and tells us about the sensation of touching Luna's warm skin in the cold ocean, it sends a shiver down your spine because the connection between man and creature is suddenly undeniable.
Along with breathtaking cinematography, the filmmakers talk about the web of life, interconnectedness and the pitfalls of anthropomorphism. More than anything, they ask us to consider the "wall between humans and the natural world" in the hopes we may one day renegotiate the existing contract and see ourselves as an inherent piece of the puzzle, instead of removing ourselves intellectually from the world of "beasts."
From what this movie tells us, the animals have far more to teach us than we could possibly teach them. And little Luna, whose life came to a violent end after an encounter with a tug boat propeller, may have offered us the most valuable lesson of all by making us care about a life so different - and yet so strangely similar - to our own.
kmonk@canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Previous
Next
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Photograph by : From Saving Luna/Handout
The killer whale in Nootka Sound.
Luna and humans make close contact.
The marine mammal raised questions about our relationship to other mammals.
Showing off Luna's pearly whites.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
83 Southern Residents
photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin
There were seven losses to the southern resident killer whale community of BC this year leaving a total of 83 animals. Those lost include Splash/L67 (23 year old), Luna's mom and little brother Aurora/L101 (6 years old). Lummi/K7 was the oldest female (98 years old) of the population and was noted missing at the beginning of the season. Ankh/L21 a 58 year old female is among the missing and Blosson/J11 a 36 year old female. The calf born in June this year K42 is still surviving however the other calf born this year in August L111 is missing as is J43 a calf born last year. This is very discouraging as the community is endangered and many of the whales are looking like they are malnourished showing a distinctive 'peanut head' when starved apparently due to low Chinook fish stocks.
photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin
Friday, June 13, 2008
Goodbye Luna
Goodbye Luna
Originally uploaded by Kasatka
Drawn on March 10, 2006, the day Luna died. Uploaded to be added to the Draw an Orca group =)
For more marine life art, please visit my Deviantart account: kasatkaorca.deviantart.com
Monday, June 02, 2008
Encounter with Luna, the killer whale, is lesson in stewardship
Encounter with Luna, the killer whale, is lesson in stewardship
Encounter with Luna, the killer whale, is lesson in stewardship
In September 2005, I accompanied two Mowachaht/Muchalaht fisheries experts up the northwest coast of Vancouver Island aboard the tribe's lightweight Zodiac. As we returned to the deep canyon fjord of Nootka Sound, a call came over the radio from the First Nation's stewardship boat. Luna was playing at the Gold River dock.
Within minutes, we were looking for the mischievous orca. At first there was no sign of him. We idled slowly from one end of the dock to the other. "False alarm," I thought. Then I saw his head bob up beside the rusty hull of a large boat.
Fisheries coordinator Jamie James leaned over the side of the Zodiac and snapped his fingers below the surface of the water. Luna immediately swam over to us like a happy sea puppy. He seemed to recognize Jamie, and he eyed me with curiosity. I was stunned.
For the next hour, a rambunctious Luna swam back and forth between our boats as we led him from potential trouble and out toward the ocean. He gently pushed us from side to side.
He dove with playful agility beneath the hull and pushed us along from the back of the Zodiac. Luna did backflips and splashed the water with his tail and pectoral fins. He surfed in our wake and rubbed up against the side of the boat.
All I could say — over and over — was, "He's amazing!" I feel blessed to have encountered this special creature. He struck me as a sweet, gentle, childlike spirit.
I took many photographs of Luna that day and have since written about the iconic orca for several publications. It is a compelling narrative.
At a time when salmon runs are at historic lows, northern glaciers are melting at an alarming rate and earthquakes and cyclones are wiping out entire communities, Luna's presence among humans serves as a poignant reminder about our responsibility as stewards over this fragile Earth and its endangered creatures.
Stephan Michaels
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Encounter with Luna, the killer whale, is lesson in stewardship
In September 2005, I accompanied two Mowachaht/Muchalaht fisheries experts up the northwest coast of Vancouver Island aboard the tribe's lightweight Zodiac. As we returned to the deep canyon fjord of Nootka Sound, a call came over the radio from the First Nation's stewardship boat. Luna was playing at the Gold River dock.
Within minutes, we were looking for the mischievous orca. At first there was no sign of him. We idled slowly from one end of the dock to the other. "False alarm," I thought. Then I saw his head bob up beside the rusty hull of a large boat.
Fisheries coordinator Jamie James leaned over the side of the Zodiac and snapped his fingers below the surface of the water. Luna immediately swam over to us like a happy sea puppy. He seemed to recognize Jamie, and he eyed me with curiosity. I was stunned.
For the next hour, a rambunctious Luna swam back and forth between our boats as we led him from potential trouble and out toward the ocean. He gently pushed us from side to side.
He dove with playful agility beneath the hull and pushed us along from the back of the Zodiac. Luna did backflips and splashed the water with his tail and pectoral fins. He surfed in our wake and rubbed up against the side of the boat.
All I could say — over and over — was, "He's amazing!" I feel blessed to have encountered this special creature. He struck me as a sweet, gentle, childlike spirit.
I took many photographs of Luna that day and have since written about the iconic orca for several publications. It is a compelling narrative.
At a time when salmon runs are at historic lows, northern glaciers are melting at an alarming rate and earthquakes and cyclones are wiping out entire communities, Luna's presence among humans serves as a poignant reminder about our responsibility as stewards over this fragile Earth and its endangered creatures.
Stephan Michaels
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Luna at Seattle Film Festival
"Saving Luna" recalls the riveting and polarizing tale of the killer whale
"Saving Luna" recalls the riveting and polarizing tale of the killer whale
By Stephan Michaels
Special to The Seattle Times
Two years after a tragic accident ended the saga of the wayward killer whale known as Luna, documentary makers Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit bring the gregarious little orca to the Seattle International Film Festival in a thought-provoking account likely to stir debate. From the opening montage of watery coves and misty mountainsides that establishes the remote setting of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, "Saving Luna" sets out to transport audiences beneath the surface of this compelling story, and does so.
As was widely reported, the 2-year-old orca had gone missing and was presumed dead before he mysteriously appeared in the waters of Nootka Sound in July 2001. One of our endangered southern resident orcas, Luna was alone, some 200 miles from his pod's prime territory.
Killer whales are among the most social of mammals and, having no other orcas with which to communicate, Luna made startling contact with people and boats. Some locals were delighted, but others were alarmed. This put the young orca at risk and created a dilemma that posited science, politics and cultures at an impasse.
Marine-mammal experts were at odds with policymakers over whether and how to reunite the orca with its pod, while the indigenous people of Nootka opposed any intervention, maintaining that nature be allowed to take its course.
On assignment for Smithsonian Magazine, Chisholm and Parfit traveled to Gold River, B.C., in the spring of 2004 to cover Luna's attempted capture by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The married couple wound up living in that inlet town for nearly three years, becoming advocates for a whale.
As the film begins, Parfit narrates, "There is a wall, built of fear and respect, which normally stands between humans and wild beings. We humans tell sweet and magical fables about going through that wall and making friends with a mysterious creature on the other side. ... But we don't think it could actually happen."
That theme resounds throughout the film: Was it possible to actually befriend a wild animal such as Luna, and could friendship have saved him?
To some, this idea might verge on anthropomorphism, but for Parfit, it is a legitimate way of understanding how Luna broke down that barrier.
"My sense of it," explains the filmmaker, "is that the social need that he had and that we have, that we call friendship, is extremely complicated in our lives and in theirs. In the details it's going to be different. But that big thing we think of as 'friendship,' which encompasses all of those emotional structures, is a good metaphor for what he needed and a good metaphor for what we sensed when we looked in his eye."
And a look into Luna's eyes is what viewers get. We are virtually introduced to the playful, charismatic orca, sometimes through stunning underwater photography, and sometimes through the moving accounts of people whose encounters and interactions with Luna are captured on tape. We are also afforded a view from the cultural perspective of Nootka's Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation Band, for whom orcas are esteemed protectors of the sea and who believed Luna embodied the spirit of their recently deceased chief.
The captivity contingency
These vantage points shed new light on the dramatic events in June of 2004, when the First Nation band intervened in the DFO's effort to relocate Luna with his family and pod. At the time, department officials acknowledged that their attempt might well meet with failure. Now we hear from DFO marine scientist John Ford, "most of us were not convinced that it would be successful."
One contingency was to place the orca in a marine park aquarium. In "Saving Luna," some locals voice suspicions that Luna was likely bound for captivity, and the film presents some evidence to support that notion. We are shown correspondence from one such facility to the DFO expressing "considerable interest" in the orca, stating Luna "will enhance our breeding program."
Parfit notes that their investigation neither points to any conspiracy nor concludes that Luna's captivity was a fait accompli, but it does indicate the contingency was elaborate. "Logistics were already in place to take him to a captive facility soon after his release, if he continued to play with boats," he says. "It was a very advanced and detailed plan, and that's the one place where the department was not frank with the public."
To the tribe, however, it was a foregone conclusion that Luna was headed straight to captivity. In the film, hereditary chief Jerry Jack speaks adamantly. "That was their bottom line. They were going to sell him to an aquarium."
Stewards of Luna
The film presents an eye-opening depiction of the attempted capture, as tribal members paddle out in wooden canoes to rally for Luna's freedom. The sound of their chanting fades beneath Parfit's narrative, evoking a mythical image.
"Luna followed the song, and they turned into the wind. An ancient people trying to make a modern legend of sea and spirit with a little whale."
The tribe ultimately prevailed and was granted a stewardship permit to keep Luna from interacting with boaters. No longer a dolphin-size infant, Luna had damaged some boats by playing too roughly, and a handful of anglers had threatened to kill him.
Here we become aware of a powerful emotional bond between Luna and First Nation steward Jamie James. By examining this fablelike connection, the filmmakers make perhaps their best argument that friendship, or something akin to it, could indeed keep Luna from harm.
Getting personal
This poignant portrayal of an interspecies relationship does invite debate, as the filmmakers reveal their own personal involvement in the tale. Chisholm acknowledges to the audience, "For us, the idea of getting involved in a story that we're trying to cover was a fundamental break from journalistic rules."
Venturing into the political arena, Parfit and Chisholm proposed that Luna be provided consistent and structured human interaction to hopefully eliminate haphazard encounters. Chisholm says the decision to cross over into advocacy took a lot of soul searching.
"We were still reporting the facts; we were reporting the truth," offers Chisholm. "We didn't feel that we were losing our objectivity in that sense, but we did get involved in that we tried to change the outcome of this individual's life. It really felt like morally we had no choice."
Things become even more personal, if not more controversial, when Parfit jumps in and assumes an unauthorized role after the First Nation's permit had expired.
"We felt compelled and driven," explains Chisholm, "based on the evidence that showed again and again that you couldn't keep Luna away from people. Mike's goal in going out there was to have a presence on the water when there was no stewardship and hopefully prevent unwanted interactions."
"It was agonizing," confides Parfit. "Yet we felt so strongly about it because of all the information we had gathered. We felt that when Luna was with us, he was safe."
The end isn't everything
In a story rife with human conflict and finger-pointing, "Saving Luna" navigates deftly through these contentious waters. It does, however, pose a curious footnote to the orca's sad demise in a freak accident with a tugboat: "The department, which had prosecuted a woman for petting Luna's nose, did not conduct a serious investigation into his death."
Yet the film doesn't dwell on the tale's heartbreaking conclusion. Instead, it succeeds by keeping its focus on the live Luna.
"The fact that the story ended is not the point," muses Parfit. "Luna represented something extraordinary, and we didn't want to overshadow that by the circumstances that ended the story."
Stephan Michaels is an award-winning freelance journalist who covered the saga of Luna the killer whale for several publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Peninsula Daily News.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
"Saving Luna" recalls the riveting and polarizing tale of the killer whale
By Stephan Michaels
Special to The Seattle Times
Two years after a tragic accident ended the saga of the wayward killer whale known as Luna, documentary makers Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit bring the gregarious little orca to the Seattle International Film Festival in a thought-provoking account likely to stir debate. From the opening montage of watery coves and misty mountainsides that establishes the remote setting of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, "Saving Luna" sets out to transport audiences beneath the surface of this compelling story, and does so.
As was widely reported, the 2-year-old orca had gone missing and was presumed dead before he mysteriously appeared in the waters of Nootka Sound in July 2001. One of our endangered southern resident orcas, Luna was alone, some 200 miles from his pod's prime territory.
Killer whales are among the most social of mammals and, having no other orcas with which to communicate, Luna made startling contact with people and boats. Some locals were delighted, but others were alarmed. This put the young orca at risk and created a dilemma that posited science, politics and cultures at an impasse.
Marine-mammal experts were at odds with policymakers over whether and how to reunite the orca with its pod, while the indigenous people of Nootka opposed any intervention, maintaining that nature be allowed to take its course.
On assignment for Smithsonian Magazine, Chisholm and Parfit traveled to Gold River, B.C., in the spring of 2004 to cover Luna's attempted capture by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The married couple wound up living in that inlet town for nearly three years, becoming advocates for a whale.
As the film begins, Parfit narrates, "There is a wall, built of fear and respect, which normally stands between humans and wild beings. We humans tell sweet and magical fables about going through that wall and making friends with a mysterious creature on the other side. ... But we don't think it could actually happen."
That theme resounds throughout the film: Was it possible to actually befriend a wild animal such as Luna, and could friendship have saved him?
To some, this idea might verge on anthropomorphism, but for Parfit, it is a legitimate way of understanding how Luna broke down that barrier.
"My sense of it," explains the filmmaker, "is that the social need that he had and that we have, that we call friendship, is extremely complicated in our lives and in theirs. In the details it's going to be different. But that big thing we think of as 'friendship,' which encompasses all of those emotional structures, is a good metaphor for what he needed and a good metaphor for what we sensed when we looked in his eye."
And a look into Luna's eyes is what viewers get. We are virtually introduced to the playful, charismatic orca, sometimes through stunning underwater photography, and sometimes through the moving accounts of people whose encounters and interactions with Luna are captured on tape. We are also afforded a view from the cultural perspective of Nootka's Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation Band, for whom orcas are esteemed protectors of the sea and who believed Luna embodied the spirit of their recently deceased chief.
The captivity contingency
These vantage points shed new light on the dramatic events in June of 2004, when the First Nation band intervened in the DFO's effort to relocate Luna with his family and pod. At the time, department officials acknowledged that their attempt might well meet with failure. Now we hear from DFO marine scientist John Ford, "most of us were not convinced that it would be successful."
One contingency was to place the orca in a marine park aquarium. In "Saving Luna," some locals voice suspicions that Luna was likely bound for captivity, and the film presents some evidence to support that notion. We are shown correspondence from one such facility to the DFO expressing "considerable interest" in the orca, stating Luna "will enhance our breeding program."
Parfit notes that their investigation neither points to any conspiracy nor concludes that Luna's captivity was a fait accompli, but it does indicate the contingency was elaborate. "Logistics were already in place to take him to a captive facility soon after his release, if he continued to play with boats," he says. "It was a very advanced and detailed plan, and that's the one place where the department was not frank with the public."
To the tribe, however, it was a foregone conclusion that Luna was headed straight to captivity. In the film, hereditary chief Jerry Jack speaks adamantly. "That was their bottom line. They were going to sell him to an aquarium."
Stewards of Luna
The film presents an eye-opening depiction of the attempted capture, as tribal members paddle out in wooden canoes to rally for Luna's freedom. The sound of their chanting fades beneath Parfit's narrative, evoking a mythical image.
"Luna followed the song, and they turned into the wind. An ancient people trying to make a modern legend of sea and spirit with a little whale."
The tribe ultimately prevailed and was granted a stewardship permit to keep Luna from interacting with boaters. No longer a dolphin-size infant, Luna had damaged some boats by playing too roughly, and a handful of anglers had threatened to kill him.
Here we become aware of a powerful emotional bond between Luna and First Nation steward Jamie James. By examining this fablelike connection, the filmmakers make perhaps their best argument that friendship, or something akin to it, could indeed keep Luna from harm.
Getting personal
This poignant portrayal of an interspecies relationship does invite debate, as the filmmakers reveal their own personal involvement in the tale. Chisholm acknowledges to the audience, "For us, the idea of getting involved in a story that we're trying to cover was a fundamental break from journalistic rules."
Venturing into the political arena, Parfit and Chisholm proposed that Luna be provided consistent and structured human interaction to hopefully eliminate haphazard encounters. Chisholm says the decision to cross over into advocacy took a lot of soul searching.
"We were still reporting the facts; we were reporting the truth," offers Chisholm. "We didn't feel that we were losing our objectivity in that sense, but we did get involved in that we tried to change the outcome of this individual's life. It really felt like morally we had no choice."
Things become even more personal, if not more controversial, when Parfit jumps in and assumes an unauthorized role after the First Nation's permit had expired.
"We felt compelled and driven," explains Chisholm, "based on the evidence that showed again and again that you couldn't keep Luna away from people. Mike's goal in going out there was to have a presence on the water when there was no stewardship and hopefully prevent unwanted interactions."
"It was agonizing," confides Parfit. "Yet we felt so strongly about it because of all the information we had gathered. We felt that when Luna was with us, he was safe."
The end isn't everything
In a story rife with human conflict and finger-pointing, "Saving Luna" navigates deftly through these contentious waters. It does, however, pose a curious footnote to the orca's sad demise in a freak accident with a tugboat: "The department, which had prosecuted a woman for petting Luna's nose, did not conduct a serious investigation into his death."
Yet the film doesn't dwell on the tale's heartbreaking conclusion. Instead, it succeeds by keeping its focus on the live Luna.
"The fact that the story ended is not the point," muses Parfit. "Luna represented something extraordinary, and we didn't want to overshadow that by the circumstances that ended the story."
Stephan Michaels is an award-winning freelance journalist who covered the saga of Luna the killer whale for several publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle and Peninsula Daily News.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Friday, May 16, 2008
Saving Luna at Cannes
Film about orphaned orca to be screened at Cannes
Friday » May 16 » 2008
Film about orphaned orca to be screened at Cannes
Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
Friday, May 09, 2008
Vancouver Island's homegrown whale tale is headed to Cannes.
Saving Luna, the film about the life and death of the young killer whale who became separated from his pod and took up residence in Nootka Sound, is one of 10 feature films picked by Telefilm Canada for screening at the Cannes Marche de Film in the south of France later this month.
The Marche de Film runs in conjunction with the famed film festival, with its glitz, glamour and Hollywood blockbusters, but is geared to marketing films for theatre screenings, said producer Suzanne Chisholm.
"We're running around getting all the promotional materials ready," Chisholm said.
"It's the biggest theatrical film market in the world. This is a chance to show it to international buyers," she said.
Chisholm and partner Mike Parfit, who wrote and edited the film, will be in Cannes from May 14 to 23, but will be staying in Nice because film-festival crowds have already booked all the affordable rooms in Cannes.
"We never expected, when we were in Gold River four years ago, that it would go this far," Chisholm said.
The film, which explores the complicated relationship between Luna, the people who tried to befriend him and organizations which tried to stop the interaction, has already won awards at film festivals from Bermuda to San Francisco.
"From the very beginning we said it was a world-class story," Chisholm said.
"It's the sort of story that crosses boundaries. People love stories about individuals, about animals and they want to know how we can do a little better with our planet."
Luna turned up in Nootka Sound as a baby in 2001 and tried to compensate for the loss of his pod by connecting with people and boats, but his presence in the waters around Gold River became a major controversy.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans made an ill-fated attempt to move him back to Juan de Fuca Strait, in hopes he would rejoin his pod, but the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation, who believed Luna embodied the spirit of their dead chief, lured the whale away from the net pen with canoes.
As a final sad chapter, Luna was killed by a tugboat propeller in 2006.
Parfit and Chisholm, who originally went to Nootka Sound to do a magazine story on the young whale, moved to Gold River during the Luna years, and part of the film deals with their increasing involvement with the whale and their efforts to protect him.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Friday » May 16 » 2008
Film about orphaned orca to be screened at Cannes
Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
Friday, May 09, 2008
Vancouver Island's homegrown whale tale is headed to Cannes.
Saving Luna, the film about the life and death of the young killer whale who became separated from his pod and took up residence in Nootka Sound, is one of 10 feature films picked by Telefilm Canada for screening at the Cannes Marche de Film in the south of France later this month.
The Marche de Film runs in conjunction with the famed film festival, with its glitz, glamour and Hollywood blockbusters, but is geared to marketing films for theatre screenings, said producer Suzanne Chisholm.
"We're running around getting all the promotional materials ready," Chisholm said.
"It's the biggest theatrical film market in the world. This is a chance to show it to international buyers," she said.
Chisholm and partner Mike Parfit, who wrote and edited the film, will be in Cannes from May 14 to 23, but will be staying in Nice because film-festival crowds have already booked all the affordable rooms in Cannes.
"We never expected, when we were in Gold River four years ago, that it would go this far," Chisholm said.
The film, which explores the complicated relationship between Luna, the people who tried to befriend him and organizations which tried to stop the interaction, has already won awards at film festivals from Bermuda to San Francisco.
"From the very beginning we said it was a world-class story," Chisholm said.
"It's the sort of story that crosses boundaries. People love stories about individuals, about animals and they want to know how we can do a little better with our planet."
Luna turned up in Nootka Sound as a baby in 2001 and tried to compensate for the loss of his pod by connecting with people and boats, but his presence in the waters around Gold River became a major controversy.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans made an ill-fated attempt to move him back to Juan de Fuca Strait, in hopes he would rejoin his pod, but the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nation, who believed Luna embodied the spirit of their dead chief, lured the whale away from the net pen with canoes.
As a final sad chapter, Luna was killed by a tugboat propeller in 2006.
Parfit and Chisholm, who originally went to Nootka Sound to do a magazine story on the young whale, moved to Gold River during the Luna years, and part of the film deals with their increasing involvement with the whale and their efforts to protect him.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Remembering Luna
2 years ago today, Luna died in Nootka Sound when he was hit by a large tug boat. We miss him dearly and think of him today. Please light a candle and remember his life.
Read more at Reunite Luna and see the wonderful Luna quilt made by Mary Bluhm here at Orca Network
I received a few emails today about his anniversary. In one of them, someone quoted the following by our friend Mike Parfit of Saving Luna and I think it does wonderful job of summarizing the life of this being;
“The fact that the story ended is not the point.
That the story happened is the point.
Luna was this extraordinary being
and represented something extraordinary,
and we didn’t want to overshadow that
by the circumstances the ended the story.”
- Mike Parfit
Some images submitted by Stephan Michaels and the article from the LA Times Dec 23, 2005; It's hardly black and white
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saving Luna upcoming screenings
Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Santa Barbara, CA
Saturday, January 26, 2008, 7:00 PM, Center Stage, 751 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara
Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 12:30 PM, Victoria Hall, 33 W. Victoria St, Santa Barbara
Tickets: www.sbfilmfestival.org
San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Saturday, February 2, 2008, 1:00 PM, Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
Tickets: www.oceanfilmfest.org
Victoria Film Festival, Victoria, BC
Sunday, February 3, 2008, 7:15 PM, Empire Theatres Capitol 6, 805 Yates, Victoria
Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7:15 PM Caprice Theatre, 777 Goldstream, Langford
Tickets: www.victoriafilmfestival.com
Powell River Film Festival, Powell River, BC
Friday, February 8, 2008, 12:30 PM, Evergreen Theatre, Powell River
Tickets: www.prfilmfestival.ca
Saturday, January 26, 2008, 7:00 PM, Center Stage, 751 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara
Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 12:30 PM, Victoria Hall, 33 W. Victoria St, Santa Barbara
Tickets: www.sbfilmfestival.org
San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Saturday, February 2, 2008, 1:00 PM, Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
Tickets: www.oceanfilmfest.org
Victoria Film Festival, Victoria, BC
Sunday, February 3, 2008, 7:15 PM, Empire Theatres Capitol 6, 805 Yates, Victoria
Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 7:15 PM Caprice Theatre, 777 Goldstream, Langford
Tickets: www.victoriafilmfestival.com
Powell River Film Festival, Powell River, BC
Friday, February 8, 2008, 12:30 PM, Evergreen Theatre, Powell River
Tickets: www.prfilmfestival.ca
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sultans on CBC
On CBC Tonight is the Sultans of String promoting their latest CD Luna, who's lead track is written for our friend L98 - see clip below! Way to go guys!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tsux'iit : Anon's Tribute to Luna
Keith Wood of the Anon and Luna Live has "manifested" this amazing memoir of our friend Luna.
12.17.07;
"Tsux'iit brought me from Active Pass, all the way to Vancouver yesterday. It was warm, a perfect wind, and you could see the uniform snow line on all of the mountains surrounding the Strait. It was absolutely beautiful."
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A Tribute to Luna by Sultans of String
Sultans of String
song: Luna (Chris McKhool/ Kevin Laliberte) from CD LUNA
Written as a tribute to Luna (First Nation name Tsux'iit),the famous killer whale in the Nootka Sound near Vancouver Island. The Mowachaht / Muchalaht First Nation believed him to be a reincarnation of their late chief Ambrose Maquinna. "Chief Ambrose said he'd like to come back as a Kakawin [killer whale in Nuu-Chah-Nulth language]. Four days after his death, Tsux'iit showed up."
Next live show is;
Dec 15, 2007 Saturday 9:00 PM Gate 403 Toronto
http://www.gate403.com
403 Roncevelles
Thank you for your beautiful and moving tribute to Luna. Thank you for contacting me and letting me know how much he means to you because it means the world to me.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Saving Luna in Gold River
Dear Gold River Friends and Colleagues;
We will be hosting a complimentary community screening of our documentary film, Saving Luna, in Gold River on Sunday, December 16 at 7:00 PM.
As some of you know, Saving Luna recently premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It also screened at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming, and it is now showing at the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival in China, where I am at the moment. However, we are most delighted to bring our film to Luna’s adopted home of Gold River. The complimentary screening is a token of our appreciation to the community.
We hope you can join us. Seating is limited, but we hope we can accommodate everyone.
DATE: Sunday, December 16, 2007
TIME: 7:00 PM
PLACE: Gold River Community Hall, 300 Muchalaht Dr. (next to the arena)
If you have any questions, please e-mail me. If you have Gold River friends or colleagues who would be interested in attending, please forward this e-mail to them.
Cheers,
Suzanne Chisholm and Mike Parfit
Mountainside Films
www.SavingLuna.com
Saving Luna, a feature documentary by Mountainside Films
Winner, Best People and Animals award, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival
"A local story that found the universal" The Vancouver Sun
"[T]he film is a delight" The Globe and Mail
"A ... deeply moving story of interspecies contact" The Georgia Straight
"Compassionate and enchanting" Vancouver International Film Festival
"This documentary is one for the whole family" The Province
We will be hosting a complimentary community screening of our documentary film, Saving Luna, in Gold River on Sunday, December 16 at 7:00 PM.
As some of you know, Saving Luna recently premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It also screened at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming, and it is now showing at the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival in China, where I am at the moment. However, we are most delighted to bring our film to Luna’s adopted home of Gold River. The complimentary screening is a token of our appreciation to the community.
We hope you can join us. Seating is limited, but we hope we can accommodate everyone.
DATE: Sunday, December 16, 2007
TIME: 7:00 PM
PLACE: Gold River Community Hall, 300 Muchalaht Dr. (next to the arena)
If you have any questions, please e-mail me. If you have Gold River friends or colleagues who would be interested in attending, please forward this e-mail to them.
Cheers,
Suzanne Chisholm and Mike Parfit
Mountainside Films
www.SavingLuna.com
Saving Luna, a feature documentary by Mountainside Films
Winner, Best People and Animals award, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival
"A local story that found the universal" The Vancouver Sun
"[T]he film is a delight" The Globe and Mail
"A ... deeply moving story of interspecies contact" The Georgia Straight
"Compassionate and enchanting" Vancouver International Film Festival
"This documentary is one for the whole family" The Province
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Luna goes to China!
Mountainside Films' feature documentary SAVING LUNA will screen at the 2007 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival in Guangzhou, China, from December 2-8. For more information, go to www.SavingLuna.com or www.gzdoc.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Youtube Mexico loves LUNA!
Luna and dog video is currently rated #2 top animal video by Mexicans and with a name "LUNA" isn't it slightly ironic? Also because I reside in Mexico at least of the year, Mexico has let the world know they love Luna. Here are some screen grabs for the record;
Click the video for a mammoth long discussion, people are still talking a mile a minute about this, and it's happening also in other languages! Check it out;
Click the video for a mammoth long discussion, people are still talking a mile a minute about this, and it's happening also in other languages! Check it out;
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Saving Luna; Best of Vancouver Film Festival
Award winner SAVING LUNA is back by popular demand!
We are very pleased to announce that after two sold-out festival screenings in Vancouver, our feature documentary, SAVING LUNA has been selected by the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) as one of the “Best of the VIFF” films.
There will be an encore screening of SAVING LUNA on Sunday, October 14, at 7 p.m. at the VanCity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St, Vancouver. Tickets are available online at (http://www.vifc.org/home.html)
SAVING LUNA is the winner of the Best People and Animals award at the 2007 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and has also been nominated for the Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Recent review comments
“Compassionate and enchanting.” Vancouver International Film Festival
“[T]he film is a delight.” The Globe and Mail
“Saving Luna is a local story that found the universal.” The Vancouver Sun
“A valuable and deeply moving study of interspecies contact.” The Georgia Straight
“[T]he pictures are amazing.” 24 Hours
"This documentary is one for the whole family." The Province
SAVING LUNA is directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit. Produced by Mountainside Films Ltd., with the support of Telefilm Canada’s Theatrical Documentary Program, in association with CBC Newsworld, and the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, Telefilm Canada’s Equity Investment Program and CTF’s Licence Fee Program, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC. Produced in association with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Knowledge Network.
Suzanne Chisholm
We are very pleased to announce that after two sold-out festival screenings in Vancouver, our feature documentary, SAVING LUNA has been selected by the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) as one of the “Best of the VIFF” films.
There will be an encore screening of SAVING LUNA on Sunday, October 14, at 7 p.m. at the VanCity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St, Vancouver. Tickets are available online at (http://www.vifc.org/home.html)
SAVING LUNA is the winner of the Best People and Animals award at the 2007 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and has also been nominated for the Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Recent review comments
“Compassionate and enchanting.” Vancouver International Film Festival
“[T]he film is a delight.” The Globe and Mail
“Saving Luna is a local story that found the universal.” The Vancouver Sun
“A valuable and deeply moving study of interspecies contact.” The Georgia Straight
“[T]he pictures are amazing.” 24 Hours
"This documentary is one for the whole family." The Province
SAVING LUNA is directed by Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit. Produced by Mountainside Films Ltd., with the support of Telefilm Canada’s Theatrical Documentary Program, in association with CBC Newsworld, and the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, Telefilm Canada’s Equity Investment Program and CTF’s Licence Fee Program, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and the Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC. Produced in association with Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Knowledge Network.
Suzanne Chisholm
Monday, October 08, 2007
Saving Luna Premiere
Members of the Maquinna family and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation sing and dance at the Saving Luna Vancouver Premiere
Suzanne & Mike talk about winning top award at the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming.
Encore screening of SAVING LUNA Tuesday, October 9th at 6 pm, Empire Granville 7 Theatres in Vancouver. Tickets are available online or by phoning 604-685- 8297.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Luna film wins top honour at wildlife film competition
Luna film wins top honour at wildlife film competition
Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Luna the killer whale is continuing to make waves, 18 months after his death.
Saving Luna, a film produced by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm of Mountainside Films Ltd., of Sidney, has won a top award in the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming.
The international festival is held alternate years in the U.S and Britain and attracts filmmakers from all over the world.
Saving Luna, the only Canadian movie accepted, won in the people and animals category, which had 80 entries.
"This is a pretty big deal. This is the biggest wildlife film competition in the world," Parfit said jubilantly yesterday, as he and Chisholm drove back from Wyoming to attend the Canadian premiere today at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
The film, which will be shown at 1:30 p.m. at the Cinematheque on Howe Street, is also nominated for the National Film Board of Canada documentary feature award.
The appeal is the story of Luna, the orca who lived alone in Nootka Sound from 2001 to 2006, when he was killed by a tugboat propeller, Parfit said.
"I talked about Luna (at the awards ceremony). People really respond to his story and understand the complexities of it. You realize it is a universal story," he said.
The young whale, who first turned up lost in Nootka Sound when he was just a baby, tried to compensate for the loss of his pod by connecting with people, but his presence in the waters around Gold River became a major controversy.
While people, and especially boaters, were told to avoid contact, Luna did everything he could to make friends.
When the Department of Fisheries and Oceans decided to try to move him back to Juan de Fuca Strait, in hopes he would rejoin his pod, the Mowachaht/
Muchalaht band, which didn't want him moved, lured him away from the net pen with canoes.
The description of the film says "To First Nations, he's a chief. To boaters he's a goofy kid. To activists he's a cause. To scientists he's a puzzle. To officials he's a threat. But Luna's just lost and lonely on B.C.'s wild west coast and all he wants is friends."
Parfit and Chisholm moved to Gold River during the Luna years and part of the film deals with their increasing involvement with the whale and their efforts to protect him.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Luna the killer whale is continuing to make waves, 18 months after his death.
Saving Luna, a film produced by Michael Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm of Mountainside Films Ltd., of Sidney, has won a top award in the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming.
The international festival is held alternate years in the U.S and Britain and attracts filmmakers from all over the world.
Saving Luna, the only Canadian movie accepted, won in the people and animals category, which had 80 entries.
"This is a pretty big deal. This is the biggest wildlife film competition in the world," Parfit said jubilantly yesterday, as he and Chisholm drove back from Wyoming to attend the Canadian premiere today at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
The film, which will be shown at 1:30 p.m. at the Cinematheque on Howe Street, is also nominated for the National Film Board of Canada documentary feature award.
The appeal is the story of Luna, the orca who lived alone in Nootka Sound from 2001 to 2006, when he was killed by a tugboat propeller, Parfit said.
"I talked about Luna (at the awards ceremony). People really respond to his story and understand the complexities of it. You realize it is a universal story," he said.
The young whale, who first turned up lost in Nootka Sound when he was just a baby, tried to compensate for the loss of his pod by connecting with people, but his presence in the waters around Gold River became a major controversy.
While people, and especially boaters, were told to avoid contact, Luna did everything he could to make friends.
When the Department of Fisheries and Oceans decided to try to move him back to Juan de Fuca Strait, in hopes he would rejoin his pod, the Mowachaht/
Muchalaht band, which didn't want him moved, lured him away from the net pen with canoes.
The description of the film says "To First Nations, he's a chief. To boaters he's a goofy kid. To activists he's a cause. To scientists he's a puzzle. To officials he's a threat. But Luna's just lost and lonely on B.C.'s wild west coast and all he wants is friends."
Parfit and Chisholm moved to Gold River during the Luna years and part of the film deals with their increasing involvement with the whale and their efforts to protect him.
jlavoie@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Saving Luna Premiere Announced!
Mountainside Films is pleased to announce the premiere of Saving Luna at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Saturday, October 6, 1:30 PM at the Pacific Cinematheque, Vancouver. Tickets are available online . There will be an encore screening on Tuesday, October 9 at 6:00 PM at the Empire Granville 7 Theatres in Vancouver.
Saving Luna for more information and Saving Luna at the Vancouver Film Festival
---
The true story of a lone orca, nicknamed Luna, who was separated from his pod in 2001 while only a calf. On the West Coast of Vancouver Island, over 200 miles from his family, this young killer whale ends up lost in Nootka Sound. Orcas normally spend their entire lives in family groups, but Luna is alone. Friendship is what this intelligent and playful orca is after, as he makes contact with humans. Suddenly, the mythical experience that humans dream about--of becoming acquainted with a wild being, actually happens in this beautiful remote fjord.
Humans do not know how to react. The government and scientists tell people to stay away; soon after, making it illegal to even look at Luna. As this one little orca becomes an international news story, people debate how best to save him. To the First Nations, he is the spirit of a chief; to boaters, an amusing companion; to fishermen, a nuisance; to conservationists, a cause; to scientists, trouble; to government officials, danger; and to co-directors Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit, Luna is a lovable street kid whale who needs help and changes their lives. Compassionate and enchanting, Saving Luna tells the journey of a wild beauty lost in a sea of human reasoning. As Luna touches the heart, we are reminded that any being, however small or large, is easy to love and hard to save.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Luna : the spirit of the whale
CTV : Luna - the spirit of the whale
Luna: Spirit of the Whale
Sunday, May 13 at 7pm ET
A lone killer whale helps an entire community find their way home.
The real orca lived freely in the harbour of a Vancouver Island village, loved by the entire community and the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations Band for five years until his tragic death earlier this year.
In this fictionalized account, the orphaned orca becomes the center of spiritual and political controversy. While the government plans to transport Luna hundreds of miles overland in an attempt to reunite him with his pod, the tiny Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations Band fights to protect the young killer whale that they believe embodies the spirit of their late chief.
The story centers around an aboriginal boy struggling with his identity and the Band's new chief, Mike Maquinna, who finds himself embroiled in a storm that tests his abilities to lead.
Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers, Wind Talkers) leads the cast as Mike Maquinna, a First Nations Hereditary Chief who comes to believe in the traditions of his people through the sudden appearance of Luna; Graham Greene (Transamerica, The Green Mile) as band member Bill Louis, who questions Mike's ability to be chief; Tantoo Cardinal (Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis, H2O) as Mike's mother, who encourages him to follow in his father's footsteps and Jason Priestley (Shades of Black, Beverly Hills 90210) as a government representative who devises the controversial plan to capture Luna.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Tsuxiit - Luna music video
A short film by Nick Thorburn and footage by his father Ed Thorburn. Nick is the son of Ed Thorburn, who we worked with (DFO) during our time in Nootka Sound with Luna. We thank Ed for all his hard work.
Read more here
Saturday, March 10, 2007
1 Year Anniversary of Luna's death
It has been 1 year now since Luna's death. Time flies very very fast. In memory of him I would like to share the lyrics of a song called "do you realize" by the flaming lips;
Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space -
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Do You Realize - Oh - Oh - Oh
Do You Realize - that everyone you know
Someday will die -
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize
You can hear this song on my Blackfin Myspace
Monday, January 15, 2007
Blogger Upgraded
Hello everyone! Please take a moment to upgrade your profiles so that you will appear on the blog again! Thanks for your time.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
L98 film at Vancouver Film Festival
Exciting news! Kaka'win (my short documentary, for those that don't know about it) will be showing at this years Vancouver International Film Festival! It will be part of the Canadian Images catagory in a program called "Celestial Mechanics" which is a collection of short films by Canadians.
It is showing on
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8th @ 9:45pm and
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th @ 3:30pm
You can find the information here
I would love if you could make it out (for those of you that have seen it a
million times, no pressure)!
get your tickets online!
hope to see you there,
sincerely,
Leah
leahhayesnelson.com with info.. coming soon...
It is showing on
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8th @ 9:45pm and
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th @ 3:30pm
You can find the information here
I would love if you could make it out (for those of you that have seen it a
million times, no pressure)!
get your tickets online!
hope to see you there,
sincerely,
Leah
leahhayesnelson.com with info.. coming soon...
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Luna & Dog
(video © orcagirl.com)
(on the topic of interspecies communication)
Luna and Dog video will appear on the ELLEN DEGENERES tv on Sept 7 at 5 pm pacific time and will be featured on the Ellen website!
I think it's great and appropriate that Luna will appear on a respected show that is about joy and laughter. Luna made us (the human race) laugh, smile, and awe in pure amazement. Everyone knows, laughing is good for the soul.
Turns out that this episode was mainly about blogging and blogging internet video to be exact, and this is how the ELLEN show found this clip of Luna (through my youtube video blog). Although there was no discussion of Luna, we hope the public will make their way back to our blog to learn more about this special whale that appeared on the ELLEN show! You never know who is watching your blog! Thanks ELLEN!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Killer whales are capable of Vocal Learning - Luna Barks like a Sea Lion
The production learning of vocalizations by
manipulation of the sound production organs to
alter the physical structure of sound has been
demonstrated in only a few mammals. In this
natural experiment, we document the vocal
behaviour of two juvenile killer whales, Orcinus
orca, separated from their natal pods, which are
the only cases of dispersal seen during the three
decades of observation of their populations. We
find mimicry of California sea lion (Zalophus
californianus) barks, demonstrating the vocal
production learning ability for one of the calves.
We also find differences in call usage (compared
to the natal pod) that may reflect the absence of
a repertoire model from tutors or some
unknown effect related to isolation or context.
PDF
Biology Letters
ScienceNOW
National Geographic
Vancouver Province
Spiegel Online
New York Times
manipulation of the sound production organs to
alter the physical structure of sound has been
demonstrated in only a few mammals. In this
natural experiment, we document the vocal
behaviour of two juvenile killer whales, Orcinus
orca, separated from their natal pods, which are
the only cases of dispersal seen during the three
decades of observation of their populations. We
find mimicry of California sea lion (Zalophus
californianus) barks, demonstrating the vocal
production learning ability for one of the calves.
We also find differences in call usage (compared
to the natal pod) that may reflect the absence of
a repertoire model from tutors or some
unknown effect related to isolation or context.
Biology Letters
ScienceNOW
National Geographic
Vancouver Province
Spiegel Online
New York Times
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Saving Luna Documentary
Saving Luna Documentary
Originally uploaded by orcagirl.
Suzanne films the Prince of Whales Ocean Magic for the new film;Saving Luna
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Transformation (Luna-Tsu'xiit)
Transformation-1
Originally uploaded by orcagirl.
Posted with permission from the artist
Transformation (Luna-Tsu'xiit) By Christopher Walker
Please check out this incredible works of Luna and Chief Maquinna
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Luna Memorial
IMG_1975.JPG
Originally uploaded by orcagirl.
Click the photo to see more photos of the event.
Gold River patches up disagreements over Luna
'Reconciliation cruise' on one of whale's favourite boats covers old haunts
I needed time to digest things before I could comment on them and here is what I want to say.
I suppose I could go into a long-winded write up about the memorial, however I think the images sum up nicely the event. What I will say about it is that it was necessary for closure for many people both who worked up close with Luna and for those who watched his life through the internet and even times through the TV. It was the first time that the various groups and people who worked within the situation were together. Ironically through the death of this whale, the people came together not only to remember the whale that changed their lives but also to make peace with the turbulence around his life predicament and to receive a teaching that he (L98) has given to us. I would like to thank Suzanne and Mike for hosting this important event, and think that through this they (through luna) have succeeded in bringing people together. It's definately an experience that I will carry with me through the rest of my life.
Luna's life and legacy will remain alive in his family who I now document often. I started to document the southern residents after encountering Luna in order to help me understand him better. Although I was always interested in killer whales, it was the introduction to Luna that got me out on the water doing what I do now and because of this he will always be alive in my heart. With the arrival of new babies, I am reminded of how important each one of the southern residents are. And that they all deserve the right to live as healthy and wild whales. I think that Luna has raised the profile of his family's predicament around the world, and he has become the ambassador to his own. He has become a beacon shedding light on the story of his species who is in dire need of human understanding in order to improve their habitat if the species is to survive this unknown future we all face.
The future of these whales lies in the palms of our hands. It is up to us, to ensure them (and all life for that matter) a life they are deserving of living.
Through him a pod of blogs were born. They are there to help us all carry the story of the southern residents. They are interfaced at blackfin's myspace
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Luna Memorial June 3
We will be attending the Luna Memorial in Mooyah Bay on June 3. I will update the blog with photos.
On Saturday, June 3, 2006, the MV Uchuck III will sail on a five-hour cruise to celebrate Luna's life and honour his memory. The cruise will depart the Gold River dock at 10:00 am, and will travel to Luna's favourite territory of Mooyah Bay. Tickets are $40 per person, and all profits from this event will be donated to Gold River charities. There is a coffee shop on board which sells snacks and light lunches.
Tickets are limited and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve, please call Nootka Sound Service at 250-283-2325, or e-mail LunaWhaleStory@aol.com
On Saturday, June 3, 2006, the MV Uchuck III will sail on a five-hour cruise to celebrate Luna's life and honour his memory. The cruise will depart the Gold River dock at 10:00 am, and will travel to Luna's favourite territory of Mooyah Bay. Tickets are $40 per person, and all profits from this event will be donated to Gold River charities. There is a coffee shop on board which sells snacks and light lunches.
Tickets are limited and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve, please call Nootka Sound Service at 250-283-2325, or e-mail LunaWhaleStory@aol.com
Friday, April 21, 2006
HoneyBlu releases first single, L98
Saskatoon, Canada based HoneyBlu has released the first single, L98, from their upcoming album, which is tentatively titled Thanks for Trying. The single is available as a free download at honey blue.
HoneyBlu guitarist Ryan Lejbak was a driving force behind trying to reunite Luna, the orca separated from his pod, with his family. L98 was written for Luna.
About the song: L98
Late one night in a studio far from the sea, the musicians of HoneyBlu huddled around a computer, raptly listening to its speakers. What they heard was strange and eerie. It was the sound of an alien being calling across vast emptiness for his lost family.
The calls came through the Internet from an underwater microphone in Nootka Sound, a Vancouver Island fjord. The voice belonged to a young orca nicknamed Luna.
In 2001, Luna was separated from his pod. Orcas are highly social, so Luna tried to replace family ties by romping like a puppy with boats and people. His story of friendly loneliness captured hearts around the world, and many people, including members of HoneyBlu, urged the Canadian government to move Luna back near his pod. But the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, which believed Luna carried the spirit of a late chief, opposed the move.
On the night of Luna’s calls, HoneyBlu began this song. Alas, before it was finished, tragedy came for Luna. In an accident, the voice and spirit that had captivated so many was stilled. So this song written to celebrate a life instead honours a memory.
To learn more about Luna, visit reunite luna .
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Luna: Going Home
Luna: Going Home
Originally uploaded by Shoshin Seishu.
Photo by orcagirl.com, text by Shoshin Seishu
Gray Whale - A dedication to Luna
The Story of Touching a Wild Gray Whale ------- {A dedication to Luna, a magical Orca whale who died Friday, March 10th in Canada)
Originally uploaded by SparkyLeigh.
By Sparkey Leigh
Thursday, March 16, 2006
from westcoaster.ca
MOWACHAHT/MUCHALAHT MOURNS LOSS OF LUNA
There are countless media articles on luna's death. Please visit the Reunite Luna Website to see them.
There are countless media articles on luna's death. Please visit the Reunite Luna Website to see them.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
luna sand & beach tributes
by ellen
by alanna
by osmia
Thank you to Allan who has encouraged people to participate in this process. It is a wonderful healing experience for people and gives them an outlet to resolve their sorrow and suffering on behalf of luna's death.
Monday, March 13, 2006
luna group on flickr
(my sand tribute from this past saturday)
we created this about a year ago but only now has there been some postings in it... feel free to join us there;
luna group on flickr
Friday, March 10, 2006
Friday, December 09, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Luna on flickr
DSCF0816
Originally uploaded by dancingfeathers77.
I've located a Luna photo on flickr. It's great to see other people's images. It's important for perspective, education and understanding of the situation. If you have a Luna photo or artwork you'd like to share sign up for flickr, upload it and then we'll blog it! Fun stuff :D
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Luna & Transients on Lunalive.net
The Globe and Mail - Famous whale's small talk is big news for researchers.
For immediate release;
LunaLive Stewardship Program detects Luna vocalizing with transient orcas
YUQUOT, BC, Canada Luna, the solitary killer whale of Nootka Sound, entertained some guests last night. At 2:41 AM, Allan Muir, a LunaLive researcher based nearly half-way around the world in Scotland, detected the calls of a pod of transient orca intermixed with those of Luna.
This is a very rare event. In over 30 years of studying Orca vocalizations, we've only ever heard residents and transient vocalizing simultaneously in the same acoustic space three other times, said Paul Spong, director of OrcaLab on Hanson Island.
The transient calls were overlapping Luna's rising call, which is why we were able to say for sure that there was more than one orca vocalizing explains Muir.
LunaLive is a joint-venture between the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations and a variety of environmental and scientific groups. The project utilizes a satellite uplink to broadcast the sounds of an underwater microphone from Lunas home in Nootka Sound to researchers located all around the world, in order to study his vocal behavior.
The LunaLive project, underway for nearly one year, has already proven to be very valuable scientifically beyond last nights discovery. LunaLive researchers have also documented a shift in Luna's vocal behavior over the past 9 months from one set of calls that includes 2 prominent calls with an occasional use of another shorter one, to his current behavior which consists almost entirely of the one shorter call.
Orca vocalizations are normally very stable among members of family groups", says Spong.
Studying Luna's vocal behavior is very important,says Keith Wood, LunaLive project administrator. Orca calls are the primary method they use to identify themselves to other nearby orca, and each pod has a set of calls which are unique to their family group.
Luna's been using the one shorter call almost exclusively for the past 9 months, and it has become very rare for us to hear him making the other 2 calls,continues Wood. Last night's display was very significant because it shows that he's still comfortable making his 2 other calls. This knowledge has huge implications for ongoing stewardship and reunification plans.
Many hope that if Luna were to hear his family's calls when they next swim by Nootka Sound, he would announce his identity using these calls and reunite naturally - ending long-standing concerns that Luna might someday be forced into an aquarium.
We are very excited about participating in the LunaLive project, and look forward to escalating the projects scope next year to help keep Luna safe and swimming free, says Mike Maquinna, Hereditary Chief of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, whose traditional territory includes Nootka Sound.
The LunaLive project currently covers about 1/3 of Luna's territory, and efforts are underway to raise funds from private donors in order to expand its coverage and to integrate stewardship functions as well. Interested parties can read more about this at the LunaLive website: Luna Live .
Keith Wood is founder of ANON and owner/captain of the sailing vessel ANON the principle vessel engaged in last years search for Luna's family. He can be contacted via info@anon.org.
For immediate release;
LunaLive Stewardship Program detects Luna vocalizing with transient orcas
YUQUOT, BC, Canada Luna, the solitary killer whale of Nootka Sound, entertained some guests last night. At 2:41 AM, Allan Muir, a LunaLive researcher based nearly half-way around the world in Scotland, detected the calls of a pod of transient orca intermixed with those of Luna.
This is a very rare event. In over 30 years of studying Orca vocalizations, we've only ever heard residents and transient vocalizing simultaneously in the same acoustic space three other times, said Paul Spong, director of OrcaLab on Hanson Island.
The transient calls were overlapping Luna's rising call, which is why we were able to say for sure that there was more than one orca vocalizing explains Muir.
LunaLive is a joint-venture between the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations and a variety of environmental and scientific groups. The project utilizes a satellite uplink to broadcast the sounds of an underwater microphone from Lunas home in Nootka Sound to researchers located all around the world, in order to study his vocal behavior.
The LunaLive project, underway for nearly one year, has already proven to be very valuable scientifically beyond last nights discovery. LunaLive researchers have also documented a shift in Luna's vocal behavior over the past 9 months from one set of calls that includes 2 prominent calls with an occasional use of another shorter one, to his current behavior which consists almost entirely of the one shorter call.
Orca vocalizations are normally very stable among members of family groups", says Spong.
Studying Luna's vocal behavior is very important,says Keith Wood, LunaLive project administrator. Orca calls are the primary method they use to identify themselves to other nearby orca, and each pod has a set of calls which are unique to their family group.
Luna's been using the one shorter call almost exclusively for the past 9 months, and it has become very rare for us to hear him making the other 2 calls,continues Wood. Last night's display was very significant because it shows that he's still comfortable making his 2 other calls. This knowledge has huge implications for ongoing stewardship and reunification plans.
Many hope that if Luna were to hear his family's calls when they next swim by Nootka Sound, he would announce his identity using these calls and reunite naturally - ending long-standing concerns that Luna might someday be forced into an aquarium.
We are very excited about participating in the LunaLive project, and look forward to escalating the projects scope next year to help keep Luna safe and swimming free, says Mike Maquinna, Hereditary Chief of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, whose traditional territory includes Nootka Sound.
The LunaLive project currently covers about 1/3 of Luna's territory, and efforts are underway to raise funds from private donors in order to expand its coverage and to integrate stewardship functions as well. Interested parties can read more about this at the LunaLive website: Luna Live .
Keith Wood is founder of ANON and owner/captain of the sailing vessel ANON the principle vessel engaged in last years search for Luna's family. He can be contacted via info@anon.org.
Luna poster (by orcagirl.com) 2006
(Luna/L98 swims in the wake of the Uchuck, Sept 2005)
See full report here
I am hoping over the next several months, to make a good L98/Luna poster (like the L79/Skana poster - 12X18 inches). My idea is to make a mosaic of all my Luna photos however the one above will manifest as the main photo. Hopefully to be completed by spring. The concept is to further impliment L98 stewardship and education.
A portion of each sale will be donated to the Luna Live project & the rest will be held in place for the continuation of my own independent Luna documentation work (needed mainly for transportation and food expenses). For example, I recently funded a short trip for 3 of us to Nootka Sound this past fall to provide some L98/Luna progress coverage and updates. See the photos from that trip here;
L98/Luna 2005 photos
Nootka Sound 2005 photos
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Luna & Nootka Sound 2005
This past long weekend, Rachael and I went to Nootka Sound to see how Luna was doing...
Saturday : Luna energetically rolled around and swam in the powerful wake of the Uchuck while passing through Mooyah Bay. People on board were calm and speachless as they watched him in awe. Luna seems bigger from the last time I saw him (2003) as well as his saddle patch much more visible.
Saturday : When I documented Luna from the Uchuck, I noticed some scratches on his back. I brought this to the attention of the Luna guardians (Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations) the following day who then investigated him. Thankfully they confirmed they were random scratches (nothing intentionally inflicted) and nothing recent.
Saturday : Luna porpoises behind the Uchuck then turns back to Mooyah Bay. We figure he swam with the Uchuck for 5 minutes before turning back.
Sunday : Luna follows a tug in Mooyah Bay.
Sunday : Just after leading Luna away from a potential boat traffic area - after following a tug, Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations take a moment to document luna, determining if there are any fresh scars or cuts. Mike & Suzanne of Mountain Side Films & Rachael of M3 pass in the forground while I document from the Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations land base camp.
Sunday : Luna breaches in Mooyah Bay
Luna has been staying away from docks, and has had less encounters in recent days however is still known to tag along with the Uchuck and tug boats. He seems to be physically healthy from what I have seen.
Please click images to enlarge or see more comments. Photos © Chantelle Tucker / orcagirl.com
Mike & Suzanne's report from Sunday
Saturday : Luna energetically rolled around and swam in the powerful wake of the Uchuck while passing through Mooyah Bay. People on board were calm and speachless as they watched him in awe. Luna seems bigger from the last time I saw him (2003) as well as his saddle patch much more visible.
Saturday : When I documented Luna from the Uchuck, I noticed some scratches on his back. I brought this to the attention of the Luna guardians (Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations) the following day who then investigated him. Thankfully they confirmed they were random scratches (nothing intentionally inflicted) and nothing recent.
Saturday : Luna porpoises behind the Uchuck then turns back to Mooyah Bay. We figure he swam with the Uchuck for 5 minutes before turning back.
Sunday : Luna follows a tug in Mooyah Bay.
Sunday : Just after leading Luna away from a potential boat traffic area - after following a tug, Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations take a moment to document luna, determining if there are any fresh scars or cuts. Mike & Suzanne of Mountain Side Films & Rachael of M3 pass in the forground while I document from the Muchalaht Mowachaht first nations land base camp.
Sunday : Luna breaches in Mooyah Bay
Luna has been staying away from docks, and has had less encounters in recent days however is still known to tag along with the Uchuck and tug boats. He seems to be physically healthy from what I have seen.
Please click images to enlarge or see more comments. Photos © Chantelle Tucker / orcagirl.com
Mike & Suzanne's report from Sunday
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