REVIEWS + PRESS - Whale Dreamers - Julian Lennon

Press Resources for WhaleDreamers

quick facts | high res images | reviews | quotes

Riding the wave
(courtesy Times Online)

Julian Lennon resurfaced at the Cannes film festival looking about as happy as one of the harpooned whales he is trying to save. He swore off interviews eight years ago, in the wake of a family bust-up when he criticised Yoko Ono, his father John’s widow. But a surprise decision by the Japanese government to resume whaling has made him blow his top.

“I am devastated,” he declares. “If we witness the slaughter of the humpback whale, it will outrage the planet. Apart from standing in front of the harpoon, being on show is the only thing I can do to express my feelings.”

Lennon, 44, has been living what he calls the life of a “nomad” in recent years. He has a home in Italy and travels around the Mediterranean, concentrating on art, photography and music. He hasn’t made an album since 1998, but is releasing one later this year about “the problems we face, environmentally and otherwise”.
He has also produced a remarkable film, The Gathering: Return of the Whale Dreamers. He had been content to let his old friend, the director Kim Kindersley, promote the 86-minute documentary along La Croisette to distributors. The film painstakingly links the splendour of whales to the uncanny understanding of them by ancient civilisations around the world. But, as Kindersley admitted, the subject matter failed to inspire the money men and he was struggling to sell. Enter Lennon, on the penultimate day of the festival. Suddenly, buyers were queuing on the beach to talk, pay homage and reach for their chequebooks.

“My thought,” says Lennon, who financed most of the film, “is that, whether it is the music, the family legacy, Dad’s legacy or simply the name itself, then at least use it in the right direction.” The protection of whales, he says, could not be a more fitting campaign.
“Killing whales is not a long-standing tradition in Japanese culture,” he states. “They only began to hunt and eat whales during the blockade of Japan in the second world war. It is not necessary. But now the humpback whale population has risen from 300 to 6,000 since a campaign of protection began in 1975, the Japanese government thinks it’s okay to start killing again. Even 70% of the Japanese people don’t want to kill whales.”

Lennon, with longish dark hair pushed back from a high forehead, an earring in his left ear and a cigarette held not far from his lips, strikes a similar campaigning stance to his father. The only thing missing is the Liverpool accent. He attacks his subject with the same mixture of controlled anger, puzzlement and wry scorn that Lennon Sr showed towards warring politicians. “I have to say, though, that it was my mum, Cynthia, who made me the conscious man I am today,” he says.

“Obviously, Dad had his beliefs and his way of doing things. But it was Mum who taught me my values in life. It is out of respect for her that I want to be a good son, a good man and a good human being.”
Garth Pearce, TIMES ONLINE

Whaledreamers – Calling All Who Care for the Planet
(courtesy Positive News UK)

Whaledreamers, a Julian Lennon production, winner of 8 international awards at film festivals around the world, was shown at a special preview screening at Millers Academy, Notting Hill, London, prior to its UK release later this year.

The film is a personal odyssey for director, Kim Kindersley, who explained that the film was over 10 years in the making. With breathtaking cinematography, the story follows the Aborginal tribe of the Mirning on a powerful journey, assisted by indigenous elders from around the world, to reconnect with their Sacred Earth and their spirit animals, the whales.

A truly thought provoking film with a deep message of peace and transformation, it is a rallying call for humanity to widen its circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and the Earth itself. In one of the many powerful moments Julian Lennon is presented by the Tribal Elders with a white feather. It is revealed that his father, John Lennon, said to him, shortly before he died: “'If anything ever happens to me look for a white feather and you'll now I'm there, looking out for you.”

The film had a strong emotional effect on the audience calling us to action. Over 125 global climate awareness websites have reported contact and commitment from those who have seen the film at previews around the world.
Caroline Whittle, POSITIVE NEWS UK

Julian Lennon & the Mirning tribe in Adelaide, South Australia '98
...more

Elder Pauline Tangiora accepts the Best International Film award at the 2006 Wairoa Maori Film Festival
...more

Sydney Morning Herald reviews Whale Dreamers ABC Screenings
...more

Judy Garrecht reviews Whale Dreamers in the Living Now magazine
more...

Some inconvenient truth about whales

Riding the rising tide of global interest in climate change and indigenous culture, the Australian eco-film Whale Dreamers will boast a glittering array of Australian and international investors, co-producers and stars when it shows at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival next week.

The feature documentary, which is narrated by Jack Thompson and has John Hurt, Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in guest appearances, is produced by John Lennon's singer-songwriter son, Julian Lennon, and is directed by Kim Kindersley.

Among Whale Dreamers' co-producers is Fiona Campbell, who was joint-owner of Murdoch Magazines in the 1990s when she was married to the company's founder, Matt Handbury. Campbell, who has switched her business and financial interests from consumer magazines to film and the environment, will not disclose details of her investment but says she came to the project in much the same way as Lennon, as a way of awakening people to the planet.

"I saw the incomplete film in 2006 and found it had immense power in the way it inspires us to connect to the rhythm of the earth, to lead a more sustainable life," she says from her home in London. Lennon is hoping that Whale Dreamers has a similar impact to the Al Gore-narrated film, An Inconvenient Truth.

"The film is about bringing as many indigenous tribes as we could, from across the globe, together for the first time in history," he says. "They swap stories and tell each other of their cultures, their beliefs, their dreams, their hopes and their aspirations not only for themselves but for the rest of the planet."

As it has been shown elsewhere, the film is not an official Cannes entrant, but will screen at the festival - which runs from May 16-27 - on May 24. Wayne Young, the film's executive producer (and producer of Crocodile Dundee) says interest in the film has built. "When we started, no one anticipated the current surge of interest in climate change, nor the renewed threat to our whales from attempts to re-introduce commercial whaling."
Susan Owens

"A Must See film for all those who care about this planet… truly touched my core… wonderful… heartfelt… a powerful portrayal of how the events of September 11, global warming and… the ensuing war on terror are destroying us… [and] how powerful we are in making a difference"
Judy Garrecht, LIVING NOW Magazine
full article...

"Mysteries at work in our untapped senses… thoughtful… one that anyone with an interest in the environment and a strong respect for the balance of nature should consider… deep and gentle…"
Doug Anderson SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
full article...

"Winner Best Film... A standing ovation greeted the jury's decision... Great joy... high reverence... true energy... a must see."
Rosana Golden, Founder - Monaco International Film Festival

"It is quite simple... this film needs to be seen... it needs to be experienced. I watched people cry, applaud, look dazed, be overwhelmed and some completely inspired... A roller-coaster journey with distinct messages about the plight of Earth and humanity. Fortunately it also offers hope... and not in Hollywood-style... but with clarity and heart."
ABC RADIO, NSW Australia

"The film sent chills through the audience and shook them to their roots. We were honoured to begin our festival with such a powerful call from aboriginal elders to remember who we are, where we come from, what's going on and where we need to go. The producers of the film sent this powerful message with superb writing, directing and cinematography. And the music is to die for. Toronto LOVED the film!"
-Johanna Kern, Executive and Artistic Director
Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival - Toronto

"Be inspired. Don't miss out on this inspiring documentary that brings about a timely message of hope and opens our eyes... rich narrative… breathtaking images of the whale and dolphins... viewers are granted special access to the unique gathering that took place on that cliff-top… and are reminded of what it means for people to reconnect with their culture, the natural world and each other."
ABC TV Sydney

High Resolution Images for Press

photo collection "general" - download 8.7MB

photo collection "people 1" - download 7.1MB

photo collection "people 2" - download 5.0MB

Website & Post-Production
DIGITAL TAO - Sound & Vision for the New Millennia