WASHINGTON, D.C. – Love Nature, Blue Ant Media’s wildlife and nature brand, announced today actor Graham McTavish (above) is set to narrate its original documentary The Ocean’s Greatest Feast (1×50’; 4K).
The documentary will roll out this spring on Love Nature’s global linear and streaming platforms, on Sky Nature in the U.K., Italy and Germany, on France Télévisions in France, on SVT in Sweden and on NHK in Japan.
McTavish, who will narrate the international version of the documentary, is best known for his roles in series including Outlander and Preacher, as well as his roles in The Hobbit trilogy, Rambo and Creed. (In the U.S, Nora Young narrates the documentary, which premiered on PBS as part of its Nature series.)
The Ocean’s Greatest Feast is created and produced by Earth Touch. It “delves into South Africa’s renowned annual sardine run with a new lens, giving audiences an immersive dive into the chaos and magic of the legendary natural phenomenon,” a press release explains.
“The annual journey of the sardines has been a fascinating story to bring to life,” said McTavish, in the press release. “I’ve had a great time being part of this project with a unique perspective on this underwater spectacle that has such a dynamic impact on the ecosystem.”
“The Ocean’s Greatest Feast immerses audiences in the annual phenomenon that sees billions of sardines spawning, and which provides a “moveable feast” for a spectacular array of marine predators who depend on the sardines in what is truly a feast or famine event,” a description of the documentary in the release reads.
“Audiences will get an up-close look at the sardines who are on the most important journey of their little lives, traveling a thousand miles to get to South Africa’s wild coast after riding a cold countercurrent that pushes up against the coastline. With so many species along this coast preying on them and other variables including overfishing and climate change, the sardines unite for survival, while producers capture never-before-seen closeups and character portrayal.”
Earth Touch has “leveraged cutting-edge technology and filmmaking techniques to present the story of South Africa’s annual sardine run in a fresh, new way by taking traditional wide angles of gannets and dolphin super pods paired with underwater bait ball feeding events, to set the scene, and pairing them with advancements in high-speed video, gyro camera platforms and compact sensor cameras enable us to tell our story in new ways,” the press release says.
The Ocean’s Greatest Feast is a co-production between The WNET Group, Love Nature, Bonne Pioche Television for France Télévisions (France), SVT (Sweden) and NHK (Japan).
Graeme Duane is executive producer and Mea Trenor is producer. Fred Kaufman is executive producer for Nature and Bill Murphy is series producer. On behalf of Love Nature, James Manfull executive produces the documentary. Alexandre Soullier is producer for Bonne Pioche Television France Télévisions.
Blue Ant International handles international pre-sales and licensing outside co-production territories.
“We love giving audiences a new perspective of the world, in this case alongside the sardines, whose incredible journey sheds light on the interconnectedness of so many species,” says Carlyn Staudt, global general manager, Love Nature.
“Having Graham McTavish lend his voice to this documentary brings an element of timeless wisdom and draws audiences into the compelling multi-faceted story surrounding the sardine run.”
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Image provided by Blue Ant Media.
