The Great White Whale (Michael Dillon) Australia |

The Great White Whale
Michael Dillon
Australia. 2023. 105 min

Deep in the wild Southern Ocean, halfway between Australia and South Africa, a snowy volcano, nine thousand feet high, rears up from the sea like a great white whale.

Five times it tried to kill the first team that attempted to climb it. Yet in 1964, back they sailed, through the worst seas in the world, to try again, this time with legendary explorer, Bill Tilman as their skipper.

Its one of the least known yet most audacious Australian adventures of the 20th century.

Join us on those first attempts to climb Big Ben, the smoking glacier ringed volcano on Heard Island, Australia’s loneliest, most remote outpost. It’s a tale told with quirky humour by those who were there, backed up with their beautifully shot archival footage. Paul Jarman’s brilliant musical score pays tribute to the utter boldness of the quest, bringing to life this little known moment in Australian history.

MICHAEL DILLON

Michael Dillon AM ACS FRGS is one of Australia’s most highly awarded cinematographers and producers of adventure and expedition documentaries. His multi award wining documentaries include Everest Sea to Summit (1990), one of the most internationally awarded adventure documentaries ever, Beyond Everest (1999) about Hillary’s ongoing work with the Sherpa people, Hillary: Ocean to Sky (2019), A Little Bit Mongolian (2013) and The Great White Whale (2023)

Adventures he has filmed include the first Australian ascent of Everest in 1984, Everest Climbs in 1990 and 2006, two Everest ballooning expeditions seven documentaries with Sir Edmund Hillary, a base jumping expedition in the Karakoram, six Antarctic Expeditions, two English Channel swims, expeditions in Siberia, Irian Jaya, Africa and the Andes, and a journey by London taxi from Buckingham Palace to the Sydney Opera House.

His international awards span the diverse fields of Natural History, Adventure and General Documentary Cinematography as well as Direction, Production and Scriptwriting.

In 2004 Michael became a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for service to the Australian Film Industry as a pioneer in adventure and mountain film cinematography, and to the community through support for international humanitarian work.

In 2022 he was awarded the International Alliance of Mountain Film Grand Prize for Lifetime Achievement.