New Bedford is known as an early whaling capital, from where Herman Melville sailed before writing the novel, “Moby-Dick.” More recently, its scalloping industry has rebounded from near ruin to make New Bedford the nation’s top revenue fishing port for 10 years running.
But the protagonist in the independent film “Whaling City” works in the shrinking groundfishing fleet, which has contracted amid toughening rules aimed at stopping overfishing and rebuilding stocks such as flounder and cod.
Burke will discuss only the script’s basics: his protagonist, Sean, is a third-generation fisherman fighting to save his boat amid the increasingly strict rules. In a side story, Sean develops a romantic interest in a fisheries scientist.
The script was vetted by locals and the movie features locals, such as a working fish dealer. It was filmed during 14-hour days in October in locations around New Bedford, from fishermen’s bars to an old whaleman’s chapel. Lead actor P.J. Sosko, recalls hurrying between four locations in a day — “unheard of” — and scrambling to find a new fishing boat after the weather forced the original boat to head to sea to beat an approaching storm.
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