Two years ago, local lobster diver Michael Packard madeheadlines when he said he was nearly swallowed by a humpback whale off Provincetown before being spat out.
Now, Packard is the subject of a new documentary called In the Whale, premiering at the Provincetown International Film Festival this week.
Boston Globe environmental reporter David Abel is one of the film’s directors.
He covered Packard’s story in 2021 but said he wanted to explore the aftermath with the documentary.
“I was really interested in looking at what happens to a human being, particularly a reclusive fisherman, who is suddenly thrust into the international limelight. I just wanted to see how this would play out for him over time as that limelight dissipated,” he said.
Abel said he was initially sent by the Globe to confirm or potentially debunk Packard’s account when he covered the story for the newspaper. Abel said eyewitness interviews and other research all checked out.
“I don’t think the film dwells too much on the doubts. I think we address it—but I, by all accounts, have found no evidence to see that there’s any reason for skepticism, that Michael could have somehow made up this story.”
Abel said the documentary is unlike his other films, which have focused more on climate change.
“Ultimately, I think of this as a love story. I think that it’s about the love of the sea, it’s about the love of being underwater, and it’s about the love that carried Michael through one of the most harrowing experiences that a human being could possibly have—being engulfed in the mouth of another species.”
In the Whale screens Friday, June 16 at 2pm at Provincetown Town Hall.
Hear CAI’s conversation with David Abel by clicking Listen at the top of the article.
