The Islands and the Whales: additional resources
The Islands and the Whales (2017)
Directed by Mike Day, 81 mins
Sunday 05 July 2020 19:00 BST plus panel discussion
In their remote home in the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islanders have always eaten what nature could provide, proud to put local food on the table. The land yields little, so they have always relied on harvesting their seas. Hunting whales and seabirds kept them alive for generations, and gave them the way of life they love; a life they would pass on to their children. But today they face a grave threat to this tradition.
It is not the controversy surrounding whaling that threatens the Faroese way of life; the danger is coming from the whales themselves. The Faroese are among the first to feel the effects of our ever more polluted oceans. They have discovered that their beloved whales are toxic, contaminated by the outside world. What once secured their survival now endangers their children and the Faroe Islanders must make a choice between health and tradition.
The film screening was followed by a 40-minute panel discussion with:
- Mike Day, director of The Islands and the Whales
- Pál Weihe, protagonist of The Islands and the Whales and Chief Physician, Department of Occupational Medicine and Public Health in the Faroe Islands
- Alice Hawryszkiewycz, Global Health Film Advisory Board member, joining us from Michigan, USA, to moderate.
Here's the panel discussion:
The Islands and the Whales featured in the 2017 Global Health Film Festival programme
The Islands and the Whales website
A limited number of tickets are available: book now to join us on Sunday 05 July; we will close registration at 4pm on Sunday 05 July and will send you a link to the event by 6pm, an hour before the screening starts.
Registration is free of charge; each screening costs just under £1,000 for us to organise. We are grateful for any donation you are able to make to help cover our costs; you can make a donation securely using this link.
Thank you for your support!
