Fight for Survival: Protecting the Whales

900 whales are killed every year by Japanese hunters in the waters of the Antarctic. Although the word research is written on the side of their ships, the truth is that the whale meat is destined for the tables of Japanese sushi restaurants. 37 “idealists” set sail on board the Greenpeace ship “Esperanza” with the aim of tracking down the whaling fleet and becoming human shields between the whales and the Japanese harpoons. But this is more than the story of a spectacular adventure. Director Angela Graas shows us the realities of life for the multinational crew on board the ship – seasickness, cleaning duties, the fear of failure and missing home. We meet Heath, who usually works on a luxury yacht; Irene, a webeditor who has decided to do something more meaningful with her life; and Japanese Sakyo, thought of back home as a traitor. In the vast stormy seas of the South Pole, will they even find the whaling fleet? And is it really worth jeopardising ones relationships, health, and even possibly ones life, to fight for a better world? (DOK.fest München)