LANGLEY — As part of an all-day event hosted by the Sno-Isle Sierra Club, Whidbey resident and longtime wildlife documentarian Florian Graner will show his latest award-winning film, “Orcas – Life in Black and White” at the Clyde Theater in Langley on Saturday.
The showing starts at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Graner. General admission is $10, ages 7-16 is $8 and children 6-years-old and under are free. Proceeds will be split between Whidbey Watersheds Stewards, an environmental education nonprofit, and Graner.
Graner founded his Whidbey Island-based production company, Sealife Productions in 1990 with his wife Gina Truesdell. Both Graner and Truesdell hold doctorate degrees — Graner’s in marine mammals studies and Truesdell’s in molecular, cellular and developmental biology.
Combining his knowledge of the underwater world with extensive diving abilities, Graner has filmed for numerous documentary series and wildlife films. His work has appeared on Netflix’s series “Our Great National Parks,” narrated by Barack Obama, PBS’s Changing Seas episode “Kelp: Hidden Treasure of the Salish Sea,” Animal Planet’s River Monsters show and Disney’s series Incredible Animal Journeys for Episode 3, “Alaska’s River Race.”
Sealife Productions’ most recent film dives into the complex nature of orca pod dynamics and the differences between two coexisting orca cultures in the Salish Sea.
“Orcas – Life in Black and White” delineates resident orcas’ reliance on salmon and transient orcas’, also known as Bigg’s orcas, diet of marine mammals while discussing how human policy and resource management affects both groups of top predators.
Graner’s underwater filming showcases individual animal’s personalities and group hunts, and the Clyde Theater wrote the film is a “must-see for anyone who loves orcas and the natural world.”
After the showing, the Sno-Isle Sierra Club will lead hikes in Putney Woods and Saratoga Woods, finishing the day of nature activities at a restaurant in Langley.
For more information or questions about the day’s events, email Sno-Isle Sierra Club lobby team leader Cynthia Jones at cynthiaj42258@gmail.com.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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