A documentary by a local filmmaker exploring the lives of humpback whales is to locally premiere at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute this week.

The Bermuda Zoological Society and The Fidelis Foundation are hosting the exclusive Bermuda screening of If They Were Us: The Humpback Whales of the Sargasso Sea, by whale researcher Andrew Stevenson.

Blending science, adventure and personal storytelling, the film follows a family’s journey alongside North Atlantic humpback whales in the Sargasso Sea. Narrated by Mr Stevenson’s daughters Elsa and Somers, the film celebrates the successful recovery of humpback whales, once hunted to near extinction, while exploring a shared connection to the ocean and the natural world.

Filmed over six years of research and production, with hundreds of hours spent on the water, the documentary features aerial and underwater cinematography captured in Bermuda, the Sargasso Sea and the Caribbean. It aims to deliver a hopeful message for future generations and highlights one of the ocean’s rare conservation success stories.

“As a father and researcher, I’ve spent twenty years on the water around Bermuda with my daughters, witnessing the resilience and social complexity of humpback whales,” said Mr Stevenson.

“This film is about sharing that sense of wonder, optimism and responsibility with audiences of all ages.

“If They Were Us is the third in a series of documentaries on the North Atlantic humpback whales. This film includes an additional six years of footage since completing my previous one, The Secret Lives of the Humpbacksin 2019, narrated by Elsa and Somers when they were 15 and 10, respectively.

“This most recent film, narrated by Elsa and Somers, now aged 22 and 17, includes aerial and underwater footage recording pelagic humpback behaviours never witnessed before. I reveal some of this behaviour and speculate on what it could mean. I’m in the process of authoring a paper on one of these observations and will be presenting this at the upcoming European Cetacean Society conference in Scotland later this spring.

“It has been subtitled in French and won film festival awards including Best Oceans Film at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in NYC in 2019 and Audience Choice Award at the Festival International du Documentaire Maritime in France, 2022.”

The film’s outreach strategy includes educational events, screenings and workshops with leading organisations aimed at inspiring conservation action and community engagement.

It made its first international premiere in Hawaii on February 22 at the 20th Whale Tales Conference, celebrating 25 years of Whale Trust, and bringing together researchers and filmmakers from around the world.

Mr Stevenson said: “The event was a mixture of scientific presentations, films and talks by several luminaries like Dr Sylvia Earle, Flip Nicklin, the National Geographic whale photographer and videographer of 30 years, Jean Michel Cousteau, Sven Olaf Lindblad of Lindblad/National Geographic Expeditions, Dr Jim Darling, and others culminating with David Attenborough’s film Oceans.

“The feedback I received from the audience was very favourable but I was also pleased to get feedback from the scientific community who told me that what I am discovering is a ‘big deal’.

“This is simply because we are in this unique position of being in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the migratory route of the humpbacks on a platform that provides a window into the pelagic social lives of the humpbacks.

“The Bermuda premieres are a celebration of a conservation milestone and the ocean’s most majestic creatures.”

All proceeds from the March 11 viewings will go towards whale research.

The Bermuda premiere will feature two screenings on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, at 6pm and 8pm.

Tickets are available via https://www.ptix.bm/Event/8677/If-They-Were-Us.