The special featuring Graham McTavish’s narration will roll out this Spring on Love Nature’s global linear and streaming platforms; Sky Nature in the U.K., Italy and Germany; France Télévisions in France; SVT in Sweden; and NHK in Japan
Blue Ant International has world distribution rights to the film outside of its co-producing territories
(Washington, D.C. – April 28, 2022) – Love Nature, a wildlife and nature brand with linear and streaming channels available in over 127 countries, announced today that actor Graham McTavish is narrating the international version of its latest original series, The Ocean’s Greatest Feast (1×50’; 4K). Produced by Earth Touch, this stunning blue chip documentary 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. The film harnesses an array of new filming technology including gyro-stabilized long lens drones, Shotover cameras and a new remote underwater unit to capture the sardine run vividly in full 4K. Graham McTavish will narrate the special, bringing the story to life for audiences with his distinctive voice.
Graham McTavish is a Scottish television and film actor, best known for his roles in the popular TV series Outlander, The Hobbit trilogy for Peter Jackson and AMC’s series Preacher, based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult comic book series. He also starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rambo and Creed. Additionally, he is known for his roles in numerous other TV shows and movies including Red Dwarf, 24, Rome, The Finest Hours and Colombiana.
“The annual journey of the sardines has been a fascinating story to bring to life,” says Graham McTavish. “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. 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.
“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.”
During production, Earth Touch 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 Ocean’s Greatest Feast will premiere on Love Nature’s linear and streaming platforms, outside of its co-production territories: Sky Nature in the UK; France Télévisions in France; and SVT in Sweden and NHK in Japan. In the U.S., the documentary is narrated by renowned broadcaster, Nora Young, and premiered on PBS as part of its Nature series.
The Ocean’s Greatest Feast is created and produced by Earth Touch. The film 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. Executive Producer for Nature is Fred Kaufman, and Series Producer is Bill Murphy. James Manfull executive produces the special on behalf of Love Nature. Produced by Alexandre Soullier for Bonne Pioche Television France Télévisions. Blue Ant International handles international pre-sales and licensing outside co-production territories.
Love Nature, headquartered in Washington D.C. with offices in Los Angeles, London, Toronto and Singapore, is a wildlife and nature brand that brings audiences powerful stories about the natural world that foster a deeper understanding of and connection to the planet we call home. Our award winning library of 4K natural history series and documentaries are available on Love Nature’s branded linear and streaming platforms through partnerships with top-tier pay-TV platforms and streamers, reaching over 360 million households globally in 127 countries. Engage with us at lovenature.com / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / Instagram
Blue Ant International is a leading worldwide distributor of high-quality, creative content that engages audiences worldwide and across multiple platforms. The company offers a full-service approach to production partners with sales operations in the U.S., UK and Canada. Blue Ant International has a growing slate of over 4,000 hours of premium content, including distinctive series and formats in five key genres including factual entertainment, specialist factual, high-impact documentaries, kids and family, and scripted. Blue Ant International also has one of the world’s largest offerings of 4K natural history content. Blue Ant International is a division of Blue Ant Media.