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THE LAST OCEAN
PRESSKIT [download at www.levelk.dk]
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THE LAST OCEAN PRESSKIT The Last Ocean lifts the lid on commercial fishing in the most pristine marine ecosystem on Earth, the Ross Sea, Antarctica, and follows the fight to protect this last untouched ocean from humanity’s insatiable appetite for fish.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
The Ross Sea Antarctica is the most pristine stretch of ocean on Earth. Scientists describe it as our last 'living laboratory', a place that can teach us about the workings of all marine ecosystems. But the fishing industry recently found its way to the Ross Sea, targeting Antarctic Toothfish and unless stopped, the natural balance of this unique ecosystem will be lost forever. The Last Ocean follows the race to protect the Ross Sea from our insatiable appetite for fish, and raises the simple ethical question: do we fish Earth’s last untouched ocean or do we protect it?
LONG SYNOPSIS The Ross Sea, Antarctica is the most pristine stretch of ocean on Earth. A vast, frozen landscape that teems with life -‐ whales, seals and penguins carving out a place on the very edge of existence. Californian ecologist David Ainley has been traveling to the Ross Sea to study this unique ecosystem for more than thirty years. He has written scientific papers describing it as a ‘living laboratory’. Largely untouched by humans, it is one of the last places where the delicate balance of nature prevails. But an international fishing fleet has recently found its way to the Ross Sea. It is targeting Antarctic Toothfish, sold as Chilean Sea Bass in up-‐market restaurants around the world. The catch is so lucrative it is known as white gold. Ainley knows that unless fishing is stopped the natural balance of the Ross Sea will be lost forever. He rallies his fellow scientists and meets up with a Colorado nature photographer and New Zealand filmmaker who also share a deep passion for this pristine corner of the world. All want to stop fishing and protect this last pristine ecosystem. Together they form ‘the Last Ocean’ and begin a campaign taking on the commercial fishers and governments in a race to protect Earth’s last untouched ocean from our insatiable appetite for fish.
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AWARDS Winner, Best Feature, Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival Winner, Best Science Communication Film, Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival Winner, Best Call2Action Film, Boulder International Film Festival Winner, Royal Reel Award Documentary, Canada International Film Festival Winner, Best Documentary, Real to Reel International Film Festival Winner, Moving Mountains, Mountainfilm in Telluride Peter Young, Winner Independent Producer of the Year, New Zealand Screen Producers Association OFFICIAL SELECTION New Zealand International Film Festival Washington DC Environmental Film Festival Calgary International Film Festival International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, Montana Green Screens Festival, Lincoln Center, New York Seattle International Film Festival Santa Barbara International Film Festival Boulder International Film Festival San Francisco International Film Festival Green Film Festival Seoul Cleveland International Film Festival Yale Environmental Film Festival Melbourne Environmental Film Festival Mountain Film Telluride Newport Film PariScience – International Science Film Festival Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival
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REVIEWS "A frightening omen of our planet’s future, told with truth, humour and brittle, ephemeral beauty" Melenie Parkes, Yahoo Entertainment NZ “Peter Young’s ravishing footage lends emotive force to his detailed account of the case against fishing Antarctic waters.” Bill Gosden, NZ Film Festival “I hope you will inspired by this movie.” US Secretary of State, John Kerry “Peter Young’s ravishing footage lends emotive force to his detailed account of the case against fishing Antarctic waters”. Bill Gosden, New Zealand International Film Festival
“Spectacular, informative, and urgent”
“Through Peter Young’s lens, the Antarctic looks wild and wonderful” Graeme Tuckett, Dominion Post
"Young's film is absorbing, politically and ecologically informative, nightmarish, and excellent, albeit disturbing, cinema". Sam Edwards, Waikato Times See the full reviews here: The Last Ocean by Melenie Parkes Yahoo Entertainment NZ 2 October 2012 Fishy dealings close to home by Graeme Tuckett Dominion Post 10 August 2012 The nightmare impact of uncontrolled fishing by Sam Edwards Waikato Times 8 September 2012 Caught with our hand in the toothfish pie by James Croot Weekend Press 8 September 2012
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TECHNICAL DATA Title The Last Ocean Original Title The Last Ocean Genre Documentary Production Year 2012 Country of Origin New Zealand Language Spoken English Duration 88 min. Shot on HD Screen Ratio 16:9 Format (ex. DCP, 35mm) DCP, HDCam SR, BLURAY Sound format 5.1 Dolby, 2.0 Stereo Domestic release Incl. Distributor name
October 2nd / Fisheye Films + Prime Television
Admission/rating Incl. PG, 18+ etc All Target Group General Production Company Fisheye Films Producer Peter Young Co-‐producer and Company/Country No
Executive Producer(s) Dave Gibson, Richard Fletcher, Paul Davis Cinematographer Peter Young Editor Jonno Woodford-‐Robinson and Richard Lord Sound Designer Chris Sinclair Composer Plan 9 Scriptwriter Peter Young and Richard Langston Director Peter Young Cast Narrated by Peter Elliott
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PETER YOUNG – DIRECTOR AND CINEMATOGRAPHER Peter Young is an award-‐winning documentary cameraman and producer. He came to filmmaking the long way, spending the first ten years of his working on the land and sea over which time he developed a strong connection to the great outdoors and people that live and work there. Peter established Fisheye Films in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1997 and has worked as a freelance director and cameraman ever since. He has credits in well over a hundred documentaries, among them; BBC’s Blue Planet Series, a Giant Squid documentary for prime time Discovery, he filmed many of the South Island Country Calendar episodes, the acclaimed TVNZ series Explorers and the final tribute documentary for Sir Edmund Hilary. He produced and shot the award winning series Hunger for the Wild for TVNZ and is now working on his second series of Coasters. He has recently completed his first feature documentary The Last Ocean, a project he began in 2006. This labour of love has expanded into the formation of a Charitable Trust to promote the protection of the Ross Sea, Antarctica, the world’s most pristine marine ecosystem. Peter has won many awards for his skills and creativity behind the camera, both shooting and producing, but it's the opportunity to work with great teams and telling great stories that keeps him in the business. QUOTES from Peter Young “Most of the world’s oceans have been impacted by human activity but in the Ross Sea we have a chance to do something special – we can fish it – or we can protect it and gift this unique corner of the world to future generations.” “When you strip back the politics and economics, this issue is about the value we place on the last untouched areas of Earth’s Ocean and the real value of the Ross Sea is as a pristine ecosystem, not as a fishing ground.” ”I was one of the privileged few who had been to the Ross Sea and filmed the wildlife, The Last Ocean was a story I had to tell.”
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Selected Credits DP Deep Trouble 1 hour Environmental doco for BBC Blue Planet series DP/Producer Get Fresh with Al Brown 10 X 30 minute culinary adventure series for TVNZ
DP/Producer Coasters 17 X 30 minute journeys around NZ Coastline for TVNZ
DP Remembering Ed: A Tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary 1 hour HD Doco celebrating the life of Sir Edmund Hillary for TVNZ
DP/Producer Hunger for the Wild Series 27 X 30 minute culinary adventure series for TVNZ DP Here to Stay 6 X 1 hour documentary series on New Zealand Settlers for TVNZ
DP/Director Chasing Giants: On the trail of the Giant Squid for Discovery Channel USA
DP Explorers 4 X 1 hour New Zealand History documentary for TVNZ DP Between the Lines Dennis Glover 1 hour Art doco on iconic NZ poet for TVNZ
DP Country Calendar : Over 60 episodes for NZ’s longest running documentary series. DP Quest for the Giant Squid BBC for Discovery Channel
Peter Young AWARDS 2012 SPADA Independent Producer of the Year New Zealand Screen Producer and Development Association Awards 2009 Best Information and Lifestyle Show: Hunger for the Wild
Qantas New Zealand Film & Television Awards Best Camera (Documentary): Hunger for the Wild Qantas New Zealand Film & Television Awards
2007 Best Factual Series: Hunger for the Wild
Best Camera – Documentary: Country Calendar Cray Coast New Zealand Screen Awards
2005 Best Camera – Documentary: Explorers
New Zealand Screen Awards Best Camera Documentary: Country Calendar Erewhon Qantas Media Awards
2003 Finalist -‐ Best Documentary: Chasing Giants On the trail of the Giant Squid
International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula Montana 2002 Best Camera: Country Calendar Mt Ida Muster
New Zealand Television Awards 2000 Best Camera: Country Calendar Yankee Harvest
New Zealand Television Awards
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
THE PROJECT Peter Young, the director and producer of The Last Ocean began shooting the film in Antarctica in late 2006. He travelled to the Ross Sea on a Russian icebreaker with Colorado nature photographer John Weller to film the wildlife. Weller had recently read a paper about the importance of the Ross Sea by world-‐renowned Antarctic ecologist, Dr. David Ainley. Since the initial film trip in 2006 Peter has travelled the world filming interviews with scientists as the film and campaign evolved. In June 2009 Peter Young co-‐founded the Last Ocean Charitable Trust, which advocates for full protection of the Ross Sea. The Trust built The Last Ocean website and worked on creating a credible presence within the New Zealand media and political circles. Funding for the film was achieved through donation, personal investment and grants from the NZ funding agencies NZ on Air and the NZ Film Commission. The film premiered at the NZ International Film Festival on 1 August 2012 where it sold out theatres throughout the country. It also had a small general release before playing on PRIME TV in New Zealand on 2 October 2012.
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THE ROSS SEA Located approximately 4000 miles south of New Zealand, the Ross Sea is the most productive area of the Southern Ocean. It is home to many species found nowhere else and has all its top predators intact, including whales, seals, large fish, penguins and other seabirds. US Ecologist Dr. David Ainley, who has been studying in the Ross Sea for more than 40 years, describes it as a 'living laboratory, a place that can teach us about the workings of all marine ecosystems’. While the land of Antarctica is protected under a global treaty signed more than 50 years ago, the oceans allow for the rational use of a living resource. In 1996, the New Zealand Government encouraged a major New Zealand fishing company to explore the Ross Sea. They found Antarctic Toothfish, a lucrative catch that is sold as Chilean Sea Bass in up-‐market restaurants around the world. As word got out, that one boat from New Zealand grew to near on 20 from a dozen different countries and they were permitted to take more than 3000 tonnes of Antarctic Toothfish every year. However, the Antarctic tooth fish is a top predator in the Ross Sea and if taken in significant numbers, the natural balance of the last pristine marine ecosystem on Earth will be lost forever. CCAMLR The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is the international organization that provides governance over the oceans surrounding Antarctica including the Ross Sea. It comes under the umbrella of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and currently comprises of 25 nations, each with a vested interest in Antarctica. Like all bodies working under the Antarctic Treaty System, CCAMLR’s decision-‐making process operates under consensus. CCAMLR is based in Hobart, Australia and meets annually in November to make decisions on the seas around Antarctica. Members of the Commission currently include 24 States and the European Union: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Namibia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK, USA and Uruguay. In November 2012 CCAMLR failed to reach consensus on a Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea, jointly proposed by the US and NZ Governments. CCAMLR then called for a special meeting in this July (2013) in Bremerhaven, Germany. The proposal was blocked by Russia and discussion will now roll on to November 2013.
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