At the Edge of the World (2008 film)

At the Edge of the World
At the Edge of the World
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dan Stone
Produced by	Dan Stone
Starring	Paul Watson; Alex Cornelissen
Release date	September 2008 (TIFF);
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

At the Edge of the World is a 2008 documentary which chronicles the efforts of animal rights activist Paul Watson and 45 other volunteers, who set out in two Sea Shepherd ships to hinder the Japanese whaling fleet in the waters around Antarctica. The film won Best Environmental Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Director and Producer Dan Stone would later produce the first season of Whale Wars. It depicts what actually went on during this excursion, with clips of beautiful scenery, news clips, whaling in action, and life on the ship.

Synopsis

The documentary follows the events that took place during Operation Leviathan in early 2007. The RV Farley Mowat, captained by Paul Watson and the newly acquired MY Robert Hunter, captained by Alex Cornelissen meet in the Southern Ocean. As they are docked side to side, material is transferred from the Farley Mowat to the Robert Hunter to build a new helicopter deck. After some time the Robert Hunter is able to find the Nisshin Maru and engages it. In the course, one of the Sea Shepherd's small boats with two men on board gets lost. Both Sea Shepherd vessels must abandon the Nisshin Maru, which later takes part in the search for them. Finally after 9 hours, they are able to locate them and they are saved. Having lost the Nisshin Maru, the Robert Hunter later finds the Kaiko Maru, a spotter vessel for the Japanese whaling fleet. They engage the ship and during maneuvering through an ice field collide with each other, damaging both ships. As the Farley Mowat approaches, the Japanese vessel calls out a Mayday, stopping the Sea Shepherds from further engagement. As the film ends, we find out that there was a fire on the Nisshin Maru, killing one worker and ending the whaling season early due to damage to the ship.