‘The Last of the Whale Shark’ documentary set for UK premiere at Raindance
‘The Last of the Whale Shark,’ a documentary by Iranian filmmaker Ramtin Balf, will screen in competition at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival.
The festival — the largest independent film event in the United Kingdom — runs from June 18 to 27 in London’s West End. Each year, Raindance draws around 16,000 visitors, ILNA reported.
Balf’s film, a poetic meditation on a whale shark’s search for its “soulmate” in the vastness of the sea, has already turned heads on the festival circuit. It picked up Best Music and Best Cinematography at the 17th Cinema Verite festival in Tehran and received an honorary diploma at Iran’s prestigious Fajr Film Festival.
The documentary has also toured widely, appearing at festivals in Cambodia, British Columbia, Spain’s Girona, Italy’s Asolo, and the UK’s own Wide Screen Festival.
Critics have called the film’s imagery “striking” and its narrative “haunting.” Raindance organizers described its inclusion in the competition slate as part of their commitment to “bold and boundary-pushing cinema.”
The film is produced by the Iranian Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC).
Balf, known for blending lyrical storytelling with ecological themes, said in a recent release that the film is about more than nature. “It’s a story of longing — for connection, for belonging. Something universal.”