PATRICK AND THE WHALE

FRI, 12/2, 5:00pm, 72 min SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Zoom Q/A with Director Mark Fletcher, Cinematographer Patrick Dykster and Roger Sherman

Director: Mark Fletcher
Producers: Wolfgang Knopfler, Walter Kohler
Editor: Mark Fletcher
Cinematographers: Rupert Murray, Gail Jenkinson, Patrick Dykstra, Romain Barats

For twenty years, Patrick Dykstra has dedicated his life to traveling the globe, following and diving with whales. Over the years, he has learned how whales see and hear, how they perceive other creatures in the water and how they behave at close quarters. In Dominica in 2019, Patrick had a close encounter with a female sperm whale. Patrick felt an overwhelming sense that she was genuinely trying to communicate. Employing stunning cinematography, and with a keen ear tuned to the whale’s song of clicks and whistles, the film follows Patrick as he takes us under the seas again to search for the special whale he named "Dolores," so she can help him show us the hidden world of her species.

Mark Fletcher is an England-based producer, editor, and director specializing in wildlife films. Patrick and the Whale (2022) is his most recent film. When introducing the documentary’s World Premiere screening at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Director Mark Fletcher jokingly admitted that “the whales started to direct the movie.” The packed theater let out a hearty laugh, but he was only half-kidding.