The Islands and the Whales

Revisiting themes explored in his 2011 TV documentary, The Guga Hunters of Ness, director Mike Day here examines how the hardy 48,000 residents of the Faroe Islands are coping with shifting environmental realities. Filming for 53 weeks over four years, Day captures the communal aspects of hunting pilot whales and seabirds, and shows how ingrained these traditions are in a culture that dates back to Viking times. However, he also presents the brutal slaughter of the whales in graphic detail and presses the locals to address the fact that rising mercury levels are making the consumption of whale meat a demonstrable health risk. Nevertheless, Day also respects the integrity of the Faroese in recording a browbeating confrontation with actress Pamela Anderson who arrives at the head of a delegation from an anti-whaling pressure group. With the pioneering ambsionic soundscape complementing the stunning photography, this is often akin to eco art. But Day is also an acute ethnographer who peers through the cocooning mists to see both sides of an emotive argument.