Bonn/Berlin, 10 March
2008 – World-renowned ocean explorer Jean-Michel
Cousteau presents the documentary film Dolphins
and Whales 3D: Tribes
of the Ocean and invites audiences to join
in a voyage into the world of these ancient
sea dwellers. Thanks to the immersive IMAX
(R) 3D cinema technology, viewers will dive
in and become a part of these animals' daily
lives in our planet's vastest habitat, the
ocean. Nimble dolphins and giant whales
impress with their refined social behaviour
and an advanced ability to communicate.
The herbivorous manatee
and the majestic orca, which also hunts
other whales and seals, are very different
species but both are wonderful examples
of the wide array of underwater life. The
documentary conveys the urgency of conserving
these animals and offers spectators, for
the very first time in 3D, a direct encounter
with small and large marine mammals.
Following OCEAN WONDERLAND
and SHARKS 3D, DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D: TRIBES
OF THE OCEAN is the third installment in
the ocean series directed by Jean-Jacques
Mantello. DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D is produced
by 3D Entertainment and McKinney Underwater
Productions. Award-winning actress Martina
Gedeck narrates the film. The United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Convention
on the Conservation of Migratory Species
of Wild Animals (CMS) are proud to support
this film in the Year of the Dolphin 2008
as a valuable contribution to the quest
to raise awareness of the urgent need to
protect these species.
Whales and dolphins
cover distances of thousands of kilometers
during their migration trough the oceans.
CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention,
is the only UN-Convention which protects
these nomads of the ocean on their migration.
For instance, the endangered humpback whale
annually migrates up to 20,000 km between
its summer feeding grounds in the polar
sea and the waters close to the equator,
in which they give birth to and raise their
calves.
"Dolphins and whales
are more endangered than ever, facing threats
ranging from habitat loss and pollution
to overfishing, bycatch and noise pollution.
DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D shows these magnificent
creatures and their diverse behaviour in
their natural habitat, while at the same
time reminding us of the urgency to actively
work towards their conservation and that
of their marine environment," said
CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth.
At the next UN conference
on species conservation hosted by the Convention
on Biological Diversity, the governments
of 190 states will confer on how to halt
the increasing loss of diversity. As the
only Convention of the United Nations Environment
Programme based in Germany, the Bonn Convention
stands for conservation across national
boundaries.
"The screenings
in Berlin come in the run up to the meeting
of the biological diversity convention in
Bonn in May. Here governments must accelerate
the provisions of this key treaty to ensure
a brighter future not only for dolphins
and whales, but also for all life on Earth,"
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director.
For Film and Press Information: www.dolphinsandwhales3d.com/
