The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52

Showtime August 11:
Wednesday 7:00

(USA / 2021 / Directed by Joshua Zeman)

The Loneliest Whale captures the scientific hunt for the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale.

For a creature who nobody’s seen – no human, anyway – “52” has quite a following. In 1989, its calls were discovered through naval sonar and tracked for a dozen years by William Watkins, a specialist in marine mammal bioacoustics. That 52’s calls through the oceans seemingly went unanswered suggested that it was the only one of its kind, and this lonesome cetacean story was the subject of a 2004 New York Times article that turned it into a cultural sensation. Is 52 the lone survivor of an uncommon species? Are they calling for a mate? Are they in distress? As the film embarks on an engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us – not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other.

PG / 1 hr 36 mins.