Daniel Kreizberg’s Tahlequah the Whale: a Dance of Grief was the recipient of the top animated short prize at this year’s Blue Water Film Festival. The Fifth Annual Blue Water Film Festival (BWFF) announced this year’s juried award winners at its closing night award ceremony held at the U.C. San Diego Park & Market on Sunday, March 24, 2024. This year’s edition of the festival, held from March 21-24, screened over 40 animated projects.
The short, which is produced by Meinart Animation Studio and writer-director Daniel Kreizberg, follows an orca mother Tahlequha as she carries her daughter’s body across the Salish Sea after her newborn’s sudden death. The short’s animation production took place in New York, L.A. & Vilnius, Lithuania. In September 2022 the Tahlequah team travelled to Lithuania, meeting the animators and screening a work-in-progress cut of the film.
“This year’s festival was sparked by a call of acclaimed animated environmental filmmakers with truly compelling stories about our aquatic life and the environment,” said festival director Greg Reitman. “We are honored to showcase some of the best animated environmental content around the globe.”
At the event, Maude Barlow, Canadian author and U.N. activist and the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project, which works internationally for the human right to water, was honored with the festival’s Global Guardian Award. Jury members were Marie Laure Roche (Magic Light Pictures), Sara Cabras (RAI Kids) and Jay Ahn (Astro-Nomical Productions).
The opening night reception and screening was led with opening remarks by Julie Duhaut-Bedos of The French Consulate showcased Jean-Albert Lievre feature film, Whale Nation at the MOPA – Museum Of Photography in Balboa Park. The Vistal Bar & Restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel hosted the inaugural filmmaker’s brunch where $15,000 in prizes were given to attending filmmakers including support from HP, GoPro, Patagonia, FilmIc Pro and Shearwater.
Founded in 2020, the Blue Water Film festival celebrates the United Nations World Oceans Day, June 8th. The Blue Water Film Festival takes place in San Diego, home to the Scripps Oceanographic Institution. The theme of the Blue Water Film Festival is about our Blue Planet; the festival purpose is to encourage attendees to think broadly about how climate change affects planet Earth and deeply about the universal concerns and actions needed to bring us into balance. About 50% of all film selections are non-U.S. productions, helping to fulfill the festival mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding through film.
Watch the trailer for the award-winning short below:
Learn more at bluewaterfilmfestival.org.
