Waimea Ocean Film Festival - In the Wake of Giants
When humpback whales migrating between Alaska and Hawaii become entangled in marine debris, a small network of well-trained volunteer rescuers risk their lives to save them.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Lou Douros
Watch In the Wake of Giants on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
When I set out to produce In the Wake of Giants, I had been making films for corporate clients for thirty-some years. It was time to do what I’d always wanted to do, and that was tell a natural history documentary story.
When the executive producers, Mark DiOrio and Mara Kerr contacted me, they said, “we have a great story about saving whales”. I was not interested in telling a story that seemed to me to have been overexposed, just another save-the-whales thing… But when they told me about Ed Lyman’s team and how they actually DO save whales, one at a time, at great risk to themselves, I couldn’t resist. This was another thing altogether. Saving whales by public protests, and raising awareness is noble, but I didn’t think was active enough to make for a good story. Three rescuers in an inflatable boat, being dragged by the ropes that would otherwise kill a 40’, 45 ton animal… now we were talking.
Reality set in not long after I agreed to invest the time to create the film as a labor of love. There was a zero-budget. Literally. I filmed interviews without a crew and did my own editing. My son, Blaise, had just graduated in music composition and theory from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and so I recruited him to score the film, also as a volunteer.
The biggest challenge, though, was in editing the rescue efforts. There’s no room in the inflatable rescue boat for a film crew. Fortunately, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s team formed by Dave Mattila and Ed Lyman, felt it was imperative to document every rescue effort with helmet cams. This “research footage” was never meant to be put on a big screen. My first job was to find existing stories out of hours and hours of footage from two, sometimes three cameras. Two of those were mounted on helmets in the inflatable, and a third, if we were lucky, was handheld on a support vessel. The footage was not well organized, so I began the arduous process of finding dates and times in the files that lined up. It was like watching security camera footage from a convenience store to find the one moment when something interesting happens.
I discovered that there were several stories with angles that could be intercut. Because those cameras were free-rolling, there was the truly authentic, high-octane intensity, right when we needed it. Even with water spots on the lenses, and sometimes difficult audio, I was able to bring the story forward.
That’s a long way around saying that, I made this film because there was a story there… and above all, my passion is in story. This documentary is a medium upon which the story could find context. When Ed and I began working together on the interview segments, I merely reminded him of each rescue effort, and he took it from there. It all came together, in postproduction, in a way that I never dreamed possible when I was first approached by Mark and Mara. The process of Blaise scoring the film showed me that we could propel the action forward with an emotional, wordless narrative. It was moving, and beautiful to collaborate with such a gifted musician. And it was the last and most important thing we did before premiering it at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterey.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Most of us that love the ocean, experience a tremendously small percentage of the drama that occurs there. In fact, when you stand on the shore and look out at the watery horizon, it’s a remarkably repetitious, dull monotony most of the time. I think it’s the scale of the thing that we at once adore, and take for granted. The sheer size of the sea sort of slows time down. It seems to take forever to arrive anywhere. And so we miss most of the magic.
In the Wake of Giants is a film that allows you to see something of the drama that would be otherwise lost to the vast scale of the setting of this “damsel in distress" story. This film… I’d argue, ANY film about something that happens in the ocean... is worth watching because it creates proximity that would be otherwise impossible to experience.
Unless you’re a trained rescuer, nobody can get into one of those inflatable boats and hear the crew work out how they’re going to solve this problem that has a real deadline. A 45-ton animal is about to die, unless they can perform a kind of surgery where the patient cannot be anesthetized, and is very mobile in three dimensional space. If for no other reason, proximity to something you’ll not likely ever see in your lifetime makes watching this film worthwhile.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
We have a responsibility to do what we can to preserve threatened populations of other inhabitants of the planet. After I produced this film, I worked on creating a sequel that explored ways to prevent whales, primarily humpbacks, from having interactions with fishing gear. I found that in Alaska, the fishermen there are intensely motivated to keep whales from becoming entangled. They are some of the most proactive environmentalists you’ll find. But fishermen are often the targets of blame for entanglement. In the Wake of Giants drives a single point that we will never solve this problem without the unified efforts of scientists, researchers, fishermen, and even private citizens. Believe it or not, we all have an obligation… and the power to do something that makes a difference.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This story was written on the fly, in a sense. The “script” was captured organically through conversational interview. The visual narrative was there all along, in the research footage, I merely had to, in the words of the great Michelangelo, “free the statue from the stone”. I freed the story from the digital hard drive.
That said, I believe preventing cetaceans from interacting with human-generated debris in the water column is the bigger story here. For instance, Future Oceans, a company in Australia that makes whale alerts, is finding unprecedented success in letting whales know where the danger lies. These acoustic alerts, or “pingers” emit a sound in the hearing range of various species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, causing the animals to change direction and avoid the interaction. I’m working with story partners like Future Oceans to find places where humans are taking proactive steps to make it harder to find stories of entangled animals at all.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I knew this film would never receive an award for “best cinematography”. In some cases it’s some of the most miserable footage I’ve ever had to work with. So I’ve heard from some film purists that it’s not as beautifully filmed as they might have expected. On the other hand, I’m sure that with digital artists, SAG actors, and massive flooded sound stages with green screens, we could recreate a perfect telling of the effort. That’s not what I set out to do.
My intent was to, without any money, retell the most authentic story I could about these humans that set out to release whales from certain death. To that end, I’ve had nothing but wonderful feedback about how special it was to watch a first-hand account from the rescuers POV.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think the thing that surprised me most has been the number of people that ask questions assuming I was in the inflatable filming the whole thing. It’s a testament to the magic of good editing, commitment to story arc and narrative, and the truly inspired work of my son, Blaise, in creating a score that propelled you forward. I can’t really think of the work of a rescue happening now without a music bed. If anything, the experience has cemented my desire to do more of this kind of work to create close proximity, intimacy with authentic people that do their job with excellence.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Any time there’s someone interested enough to ask about my work, it’s worth taking the time to respond. I’m a story teller, after all. And that’s not saying much without an audience. I’ve often said that I feel the biggest error made by environmentalists is their expectation that what they think, say, or do will close the gap between them and anyone that thinks differently. Don’t get me wrong, I admire such valiant vision. I’m a bit more pragmatic and feel that if what I think, say, or do can narrow the gap even a little between me and, especially, someone with antagonistic views, I’ve done my job. I would hope this film creates a dialogue, and at the very least allows for more participation and active involvement with doing something about that big, sometimes boring, mundane space we call the “ocean”.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would like to continue working on the prevention story. I am currently developing the expansion of the short sequel, “Northern Wake” that focuses on Fishermen's efforts to protect whales by keeping them out of their by catch. The story so far is focused on Alaska, but will soon expand to the artisanal fishers that make up the vast majority of all commercial efforts. This film is just a beginning. I’m looking for partners who will take the next step with me to create more proximity-oriented stories about authentic people.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
If the next films I create are better and larger in scope and scale, I will have met all my objectives in creating In the Wake of Giants.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Because the film’s intent is to shrink that gap between people’s experience and the phenomenal drama that happens every second in the big blue parts of our planet, I think it’s worth asking what roles do curiosity and imagination play in creating positive change. We live at a time when inactivity trumps exploration and experimentation. What’s at risk if our culture, especially in the west, falls prey to our devices, our virtual realities and our resulting passivity?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m co-producing and directing a documentary about women peacekeepers around the world. In 2005, the United Nations passed a resolution to increase the 3% of women who performed peacekeeping missions. Now, 12 years later, the number has only moved to 3.8% despite the clear evidence that women outperform men in many of the roles required in those dangerous and complicated settings. About Face is the story of conflict, courage, and resolution by women who wage peace around the world. The film will continue to create intimate proximity to authentic women both in their home settings and the international crises to which they are deployed.
I’m also producing a film about the environmental impacts that commercial and black market cannabis has on California’s ecosystems.
Interview: December 2017
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In the Wake of Giants
When humpback whales migrating between Alaska and Hawaii become entangled in marine debris, a small network of well-trained volunteer rescuers risk their lives to save them.
Length: 24-min
Director: Lou Douros
Producer: Lou Douros
Writer: Lou Douros
About the writer, director and producer:
Lou is an Emmy nominated writer and director.
His film, In the Wake of Giants, (2017, 16min, and 24min) gives audiences an exclusive view from inflatable boats with courageous large-mammal disentanglement teams who risk their lives to cut humpback whales free from ocean debris.
The premiere screening of In the Wake of Giants at the Blue Ocean Film Festival won Best Marine Sanctuary Film, and was nominated for best original score. The film went on to receive other recognition, including Best Conservation Film, San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, and the Juror's Award at Pelagos Film Festival, Rome. In the Wake of Giants aired internationally on PBS's “Natural Heroes”.
Lou has been producing films and documentaries for more than three decades in China, South America, Southeast Asia, East Africa, Europe, and the wilds of Alaska. His work frequently takes him into high-risk situations to tell stories of hope despite unlikely odds.
In 2015, together with cinematographer and co-producer, John Northrup, Lou directed three short artist profile films featuring sculptors who are creating a permanent art experience in Folsom, CA honoring legendary musician, Johnny Cash.
Journey to Peace (60min; Star Television, Asia, 1998) and The Birth of Peace (60min; International broadcasts: Europe and Africa, 2001) have been seen by audiences around the world. Lou managed all creative, budgets, and crews for the two broadcast specials.
Based in Northern CA, Lou Douros helps his corporate clients make and share their stories through feature-length films and micro-documentaries. His work has been screened by every imaginable type of audience from mobile to theatrical viewers around the world.
Key cast: Ed Lyman
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Distributors, Sales Agents
Made in association with: Mark DiOrio, Mara Kerr, Akua Films
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Amazon Prime