Filmmakers and environmentalists Francois and Jean-Jacques Mantello and ocean explorer Jean- Michel Cousteau are pleased to announce they have joined forces on the brand new 3D film DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D: Tribes of the Ocean, which will be released at IMAX(R) Theatres beginning on February 15th, 2008. The documentary film will deliver a strong and compelling conservation message while bringing audiences on a close encounter, for the very first time in 3D, with small and giant cetaceans such as humpback whales, orcas and dolphins.
"I am delighted to be associated with this new, unforgettable underwater voyage where viewers will don their 3D glasses much in the same way we put on our diving masks and will be immersed in the rarely seen world of these fascinating but vulnerable creatures," says Jean-Michel Cousteau. "DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D is an ideal means of reaching a vast audience and helping individuals around the world to understand that we need to act responsibly in order to ensure the preservation of the world's oceans and its inhabitants because, in the end, the most crucial partners whales and dolphins have are YOU and me."
"We are thrilled to be working with such a world-renowned personality as Jean-Michel Cousteau on this new ocean adventure, fostering our highly successful collaboration that began three years ago with our tremendously popular documentary SHARKS 3D," says Francois Mantello, producer of the film and chairman of 3D Entertainment. "We couldn't have dreamt of a better ambassador than Jean-Michel Cousteau to address both the media and educators on the critical situation in which cetaceans currently find themselves due to the deterioration of their natural habitats. He is also involved in the scriptwriting process and his team of marine biologists is actively collaborating on the creation of the film's interactive companion programs for educators."
"DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D will show a large variety of cetacean species, filmed exclusively in the wild, as they really are in their daily lives: interacting socially, playing, communicating through their highly complex system of sound, feeding, breeding, migrating and perpetually fighting for their survival," explains the film's director, Jean-Jacques Mantello. "Although each encounter with these wild creatures was truly magical and highly emotional, this marks one of the most challenging and epic productions I have ever taken on."
Principal photography began in June 2004. An extensive three years were required to capture the footage during the course of 12 international expeditions and over 600 hours underwater at some of the remotest locations on Earth. Unlike other IMAX-type documentaries, the film consists solely of underwater footage, with none of the usual "dive preparation" sequences.
