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EYE OF THE ORCAA Story of Wonder
A father’s love. A daughter’s wonder. An Orca’s lesson. After the sudden loss of her husband, a grieving mother takes her young daughter on the journey he always dreamed they would share. Along the way, wild Orcas, an estranged grandmother, and the quiet wisdom of the ocean remind them that the longest journey home isn’t measured in miles—but in learning to love one another again. A narrative feature film from Tower 15 Productions |
The Story
What happens when we stop simply looking at the natural world…and allow ourselves to truly see it?
Eye of the Orca follows Tiffany and her young daughter, Lucy, as they navigate an unimaginable loss and embark on the journey Lucy’s father, Jeffrey, always dreamed they would share.
Their path eventually leads them north to the waters of the Pacific Northwest—and to Kimberley, Tiffany’s estranged mother.
There, surrounded by the ocean and the extraordinary presence of wild Orcas, three generations of women begin the quiet work of finding their way back to one another.
At the heart of their journey is Lucy: a child who hasn’t forgotten how to notice.
How to listen.
How to wonder.
Eye of the Orca follows Tiffany and her young daughter, Lucy, as they navigate an unimaginable loss and embark on the journey Lucy’s father, Jeffrey, always dreamed they would share.
Their path eventually leads them north to the waters of the Pacific Northwest—and to Kimberley, Tiffany’s estranged mother.
There, surrounded by the ocean and the extraordinary presence of wild Orcas, three generations of women begin the quiet work of finding their way back to one another.
At the heart of their journey is Lucy: a child who hasn’t forgotten how to notice.
How to listen.
How to wonder.
Inspired by a Real Moment of Wonder
Frosty and the CA216C pod — photographed by Cali Gilbert, 2021
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The seed for Eye of the Orca began with an unforgettable encounter at sea.
During a whale-watching trip, filmmaker Cali Gilbert witnessed Frosty—a rare white-gray Orca traveling with the CA216C pod. For a few extraordinary moments, everything else disappeared. There was only the ocean. The Orcas. And wonder. That encounter became the spark for a fictional story exploring family, grief, reconciliation, our connection with the natural world, and the moments that quietly change the way we see our lives. Frosty’s presence became more than inspiration for a character. It became a reminder: Some encounters last only moments. Their impact can last a lifetime. |
Why Orcas?
Orcas live in families.
They communicate.
They play.
They teach.
They grieve.
They remember.
Their lives are shaped by relationships across generations, with knowledge and traditions passed through the pod.
Those remarkable bonds provide a natural mirror for the human family at the center of Eye of the Orca.
As Tiffany, Lucy, and Kimberley learn to reconnect, the Orcas quietly illuminate another way of understanding family:
We survive through connection.
We heal through belonging.
We remember through love.
They communicate.
They play.
They teach.
They grieve.
They remember.
Their lives are shaped by relationships across generations, with knowledge and traditions passed through the pod.
Those remarkable bonds provide a natural mirror for the human family at the center of Eye of the Orca.
As Tiffany, Lucy, and Kimberley learn to reconnect, the Orcas quietly illuminate another way of understanding family:
We survive through connection.
We heal through belonging.
We remember through love.
The Vision
Eye of the Orca is envisioned as an intimate, cinematic narrative feature where the natural world is not simply a backdrop—it is part of the storytelling.
Ocean light.
Morning fog.
The rhythm of waves against a dock.
A child’s sketchbook.
The sudden breath of an Orca breaking the surface.
Silence.
The film will favor presence over spectacle, allowing audiences to experience the world alongside Lucy and rediscover the extraordinary within the ordinary.
At its heart, Eye of the Orca asks one simple question:
What would happen if, for just two hours, we looked at the world through the eye of an Orca?
Ocean light.
Morning fog.
The rhythm of waves against a dock.
A child’s sketchbook.
The sudden breath of an Orca breaking the surface.
Silence.
The film will favor presence over spectacle, allowing audiences to experience the world alongside Lucy and rediscover the extraordinary within the ordinary.
At its heart, Eye of the Orca asks one simple question:
What would happen if, for just two hours, we looked at the world through the eye of an Orca?
The Journey Continues
Writer/Director Cali Gilbert during a behind-the-scenes Orca encounter at SeaWorld San Diego while researching the world that would eventually inspire Eye of the Orca.
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Eye of the Orca is currently in development.
Writer/director Cali Gilbert is continuing screenplay development while researching the locations, wildlife, sounds, light, and coastal communities that will shape the film’s Pacific Northwest world. This includes an upcoming creative research trip to Anacortes, Washington, where portions of the story are set. Time on the Salish Sea will provide an opportunity to experience this world firsthand—to observe, listen, photograph, film, and better understand the environment that Lucy, Tiffany, and Kimberley will eventually inhabit on screen. It must first be witnessed. |
Help Bring EYE OF THE ORCA to Life
Eye of the Orca is currently in development through Tower 15 Productions. Your support helps make possible the research, screenplay development, location exploration, and production work required to bring this story to the screen.
SUPPORT THE FILM
Thank you for Choosing Wonder
Some stories begin with an idea.
This one began with an encounter.
And perhaps that is what Eye of the Orca is ultimately about:
the moments we cannot plan,
the people and creatures we cannot keep forever,
and the wonder that remains after they have touched our lives.
This one began with an encounter.
And perhaps that is what Eye of the Orca is ultimately about:
the moments we cannot plan,
the people and creatures we cannot keep forever,
and the wonder that remains after they have touched our lives.
