Filmmakers and environmentalists Francois and Jean-Jacques Mantello and frequent Diver Magazine contributor Jean- Michel Cousteau have joined forces  to produce a new  underwater 3D film.  'Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean', will be released at IMAX Theatres in Canada and the United States this spring.

“The film will be opening at the IMAX Theatre at Canada Place in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 7, 2008, with additional Canadian locations to follow shortly,” said Alexandra Body, a spokeswoman for the new film.
  
The documentary film gives audiences a close encounter, for the very first time in 3D, with small and giant cetaceans such as humpback whales, orcas and dolphins.

"I am delighted to be associated with this new, unforgettable underwater voyage where viewers will don their 3D glasses much in the same way we put on our diving masks and will be immersed in the rarely seen world of these fascinating but vulnerable creatures," says Jean-Michel Cousteau. "DOLPHINS AND WHALES 3D is an ideal means of reaching a vast audience and helping individuals around the world to understand that we need to act responsibly in order to ensure the preservation of the world's oceans and its inhabitants because, in the end, the most crucial partners whales and dolphins have are YOU and me."

'Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean' will show a large variety of cetacean species, filmed exclusively in the wild, as they really are in their daily lives: interacting socially, playing, communicating through their highly complex system of sound, feeding, breeding, migrating and perpetually fighting for their survival.

Principal photography began in June 2004. An extensive three years were required to capture the footage during the course of 12 international expeditions and over 600 hours underwater at some of the remotest locations on Earth. Unlike other IMAX-type documentaries, the film consists solely of underwater footage, with none of the usual "dive preparation" sequences.

Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean will also be shown as of February 2008 at select IMAX 3D theatres in the US, including the New England Aquarium (Boston,), Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center (Virginia Beach), Texas State History Museum (Austin), Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (Omaha,), Cinemark IMAX Theatre at Cinemark 17 (Dallas,) and the Tropicana Casino and Resort’s IMAX Theatre (Atlantic City), before opening in Australia and Germany in the following weeks.

The film trailer can been seen at www.dolphinsandwhales3d.com/