“Are you crazy? Going to the island of those whale killers? They are Psychopaths!” were some of the responses Ran Levy-Yamamori, an Israeli environmental educator and a film maker, got from colleagues when hearing he was heading to the Faroe Islands.
Ran arrived in Faroe Islands to work with the children of the whale hunters.
Through his work with the children, Ran seeks to understand this beautifully rugged, isolated and unique community of Viking descendants, living in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Their strong connection to the ocean and to the whales, and their conflict between holding on to a traditional way of life and expectations of a modern lifestyle poses the backdrop for this compelling documentary.
During the journey, he discovers how the Grind (the drive hunt), was done in the past, and how it is undertaken today. While working with the children, Ran is exposed to a cast of remarkable people: the “Lady of the Horses”, an underwater diver, a teacher who is a hunter, and others. Through their voices, he uncovers a deeper struggle beneath the conflict that still boils on the shores of the Faroe Islands—one that questions how these hunts can continue in the 21st century.
In “Bridging Over Troubled Waters,” Ran sensitively questions the influence of anti-hunting pressure from outsiders, revealing how this local conflict is a microcosm of global issues, and tries to find a bridge between those who want to continue the Grind, and those who seek to end it.
The world premiere was held in the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in NYC on October 20th, 2022.
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