Following 30 years of filming wildlife documentaries for channels such as BBC and National Geographic, marine biologist/cinematographer Florian Graner will present his latest film “Orcas–Life in Black and White” at the Clyde Theater in Langley May 17 and 18 at 2 PM.
With a PhD in marine biology specializing in marine mammals, Graner founded his production company Sealife Productions in the 1990s with his wife Gina Truesdell, who holds a PhD in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. Having worked previously as a research scientist, she now works with Sealife Productions. She is a certified scuba diver, drone pilot, and production manager. She writes and records visuals and sound, playing an essential role in the production of “Orcas.”
“Orcas–Life in Black and White” is a story in part describing the complex orca culture and its matriarchal society which forges lifelong bonds with family members.
A Vimeo promotional trailer for the film notes: “Orcas rule the ocean. Their prowess as predators demonstrates agility and intelligence that allows them to conquer the globe. To understand their success is to tell a story of mothers, of family, of community, devotion and adaptation. Precise and coordinated attacks through a spectacular array of techniques. And yet unique tenderness. Wisdom actively taught by mothers and passed on for generations. Orcas endlessly surprise with new behaviors. From a grieving mother unable to let go. To a clan attacking boats. These events keep orcas in the media and in our minds. But what is behind these stories? Despite their incredible abilities, adaptions and unique family, their future depends on how we treat the environment and the oceans.”
“This film has been five years in the making,” Graner said while chatting in his wood-paneled home office in Freeland with his wife Gina. “A big part of the story is we have these overlapping eco-cultures.”
Eco-cultures, in this case refer to the separate species of orca which overlap habitat in the Pacific Northwest. Here, we have Resident orcas and Transient orcas—also known as Bigg’s Whales.
Southern Resident killer whales reside in the Salish Sea, primarily eat salmon, form large pods of family members, and have a rounded dorsal fin. They are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and their population is considered “depleted” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Their population has been declining, and there are less than 75 members of Resident orcas left.
Transient/Bigg’s orcas range from Alaska to California. They feed on marine mammals such as sea lions, seals and other whales. They live in smaller family groups than Resident orcas, and have pointed dorsal fins. Their population is thriving.
“You see how different these whales are,” noted Graner. “They’re (Transients are) purely feeding on other marine animals—seals and sea lions, porpoises, minke- and gray whales. That’s what they do. How efficient and dominating they do their business. They’re super structured. Super organized. So effective in everything they do. They really dominate the ocean.”
The Transients are faring better than the declining Residents.Why?
“Our industrial legacy is present—I call them legacy pollutants—mercury, PCBs, heavy metals—have come into the environment and accumulate up into food chain.,” said Graner. “By the time you reach top predators like Transient and Resident orcas you have a severe accumulation of toxins. Especially when they live up to 100 years old. Our oldest Resident orca at the moment is L-25, and she is in her late 90s—estimated to be born in 1928.”
The environmental toxins whales carry within them are cause for serious concern.
“Biotoxins accumulate in fatty tissue with severe consequences,” added Graner. “If whales wash up dead, their blubber is so toxic you don’t want it in the ground or anywhere. That’s how bad it is. With food shortages the Resident orcas go into their energy reserves, it gets into their blood and organs. Toxins affect health and reproductive abilities. New calves being born and nursed are more likely to die.”
Recall the story of Tahlequah, a Southern Resident orca known as J35 whose grief was heartbreaking to witness after losing two of her calves. In 2018, she carried her dead calf for 17 days. In early 2025, she was again seen carrying a deceased calf shortly after being born.
“The Residents we’re seeing are on an entirely different trajectory than the Transients,” noted Graner. “We have screwed up our rivers. There’s where we have big things to do to bring our salmon back.”
The thriving population of Transient orcas by contrast, represents a come back story showing that some environmental policies are working.
The Transient orcas have enough food to eat due to rebounding ocean resources and revived functional food chains. While their blubber toxin levels are actually greater than the Southern Residents, Transient orcas have no need to deplete their blubber reserves since their food source is so abundant.
Graner says his latest film shows the culture—the relationships each of the orcas have with one another.
“You have to think about them as a culture—orcas have a strictly matriarchal society,” Graner said. “Their sons stay with their mums a lifetime. That’s how they operate. How it’s arranged. How everything they do is planned over big geographic areas over big stretches of time. How they meet up. It’s not like the sons get sent out to find a female. A female from another clan shows up and asks the matriarch if she can mate with the son.”
Graner was born in Germany and earned his PhD studying porpoises in Norway. He says ‘mum’ instead of mom when referring to orca mothers. While earning his degrees he developed a hobby of underwater photography which has since evolved into film making around the world.
Having moved to Whidbey Island from Monterey CA in 2006, Graner’s Sealife Productions advocates for ensuring the well-being of the marine world of our Salish Sea. Locally his company has filmed and produced footage for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, NOAA, and the Northwest Straits Commission in collaboration with the North Pacific Coast, Island County, and Snohomish County Marine Resources Committees. He supports the work of Orca Network and the Langley Whale Center.
When diving and filming, strict protocols are observed and permits are required. For instance when filming marine animals, Graner is required to work creating as little distraction to his subjects as possible—to see them as they are and not draw attention to himself. In order to accomplish this, he is a certified rebreather diver. Rebreathing apparatus recirculate CO2 and oxygen, do not create bubbles, are quiet, and allow the diver to remain submerged longer and deeper than with conventional scuba gear.
“I can dive up to eight hours independent of depth,” Graner said. “I have done technical diving to 450 feet with mixed gasses and long decompression. I’m asked if it’s dangerous. I find it more dangerous driving on I5.”
With regard to filming the nearly 40-foot gray whales, up to 50-foot humpbacks, and 20+ foot-long orcas, Florian said, “…the animals are so clear with their body language. You have to pay attention. We have a contained proceduralized endeavor so whales get used to us. We want their natural behavior. When you see them approach you, it’s instantly a no go.
“The idea is to figure out how to film with experts so you do not disturb the whales and alter their behavior,” Graner added. “When you’re doing natural history you should not be interfering. They can be inquisitive, and if they approach, you shut the engine and reduce the noise.”
Drones were used for some of the footage in the upcoming film.
“A lot of people don’t like drones,” said Graner. “They make a lot less noise for the whales. There’s no exhaust or propellers. You can keep your boat far away. If you only see from a boat on the horizontal plane, you only see fins. With a drone you see all. Their social life springs to life. You get social insights you wouldn’t see normally.”
“They touch each other,” Gina Truesdell said.
“They’re gentle, physical,” added Graner. “It’s mesmerizing to see these powerful dominating animals.”
With the Earth comprised of nearly 70 percent ocean, Graner is amazed at the amount of space orcas have to live in.
“This blows my mind,” he added. “In the film [it’s said] there’s about 50,000 members in all orca cultures. Not a big number. Especially when they inhabit more than two-thirds of Earth’s surface. They have enormous space—much more than people. If you look at it under that context, they dominate the food chain. They are our counterpart in the ocean in terms of dominance and intelligence. We affect them profoundly with what we do on land with rivers and marine habitats.”
Can the Resident orcas adapt and eat food other than Chinook salmon?
“Maybe they can figure it out for themselves,” mused Graner. “There will have to be a change in their culture. Now, it’s ‘…Mum tells me I should only eat this [Chinook salmon].’ Change of culture happens out of necessity. With Resident orcas the culture is so engraved. Perhaps with younger mothers taking over, maybe there is hope for change.”
The Sounders—about a dozen gray whales—who break off from their Baja, Mexico migration to Alaska to feed on ghost shrimp in the Saratoga Passage, are examples of a species who changed their culture.
What is unique about this group is that they discovered a new food source which required swimming from the Pacific Ocean into the Puget Sound, gauging the tides, and breaking off from their fellow 25,000 companions en route to the arctic. The first Sounders to forage in Saratoga Passage were ‘Shackleton’ and ‘Earhart,’ a male and female first documented in May 1990.
Meanwhile, Graner is working on a number of projects. According to his website, a version of “Orcas” aired on ARTE, a European cultural channel in 2024, and on ARD, Germany’s first public television program last April. This year, Graner edited underwater Hawaii footage for a German documentary production company—Doclights—that will broadcast on German television next year. His underwater footage is featured in the two-part series “Octopus!” airing on Amazon Prime Video May 8.
“Orcas–Life in Black in White” will show at the Clyde at 2 PM, followed by a question and answer session with Graner.
To learn more, visit the website Sealife Productions. Visit the Clyde Theatre’s webpage to learn more about the upcoming documentary showing locally.