An unlikely collaboration between a Chicago-based filmmaker, dancers at The Joffrey Ballet, and the International Crane Foundation became a passion project and the beginning of the conservation short film series Mates for Life.
Shot in a prairie setting, Mates for Life features two dancers, Joffrey artists Olivia Duryea and Dylan Gutierrez, portraying whooping cranes in their natural habitat as they perform mating rituals, creating a lifelong bond. With direction and ideation by Tim Whalen of Big Foot Media (BFM) and choreography by Joffrey’s Xavier (Xavi) Nuñez, the film merges movement, storytelling, and an important message into beautiful, impactful art.
The Joffrey has been one of Whalen’s biggest clients for years, with BFM creating a plethora of video content for them each season since 2014. That relationship has also turned him into somewhat of a ballet aficionado.
After traveling the film, conservation, and crane festival circuits in 2023-2024, the first Mates film had its online premiere last month and will have an in-person screening on June 18. Better spoke with Whalen — a self-proclaimed “bird nerd” — about the making of the film and his hopes for continued nature conservancy.
Better: This is your brainchild. How did the idea come to you?
Tim Whalen: Sometimes I write myself a little note when I have an idea. In 2017, I had the idea that animals that mate for life would make a good pas de deux. Why wouldn’t you make something beautiful and emulate nature? I had worked with several choreographers through my job, but none of them quite clicked with my vision to take it to film. Especially pre-pandemic, most choreographers couldn’t wrap their heads around what a camera would be doing. Creating during the pandemic shifted a lot of mindsets because a lot of them had to do their own dance films.
In 2020, I approached Xavi and told him my idea to make this film out in nature. We had a brainstorm, and I mentioned that I’d like to do the choreography without music to focus on the movement, so it feels almost like a documentary…more natural and gestural, less staged, but with balletic movement. He accepted the challenge.
B: Why whooping cranes?
TW: The Whalen house (in Eastern Michigan) is a bunch of bird nerds. We had a ton of backyard birds growing up. For some reason, I really like duck. But the whooping crane was my first choice. I thought they would make a nice pas de deux. I was looking to connect with a conservancy organization. I looked at the obvious ones, like the National Audubon Society and larger places, but then I came across the International Crane Foundation. They’re nearby in Wisconsin. It was too perfect.
B: What’s the goal of the film?
TW: Big Foot does a lot of conservation projects, and we work with a lot of performing arts orgs. Sometimes a big donor comes through or passes away, and our project is put on the back burner because they found funding from an estate or trust. My worry is the day that isn’t the case anymore. Plus, our donor bases and audiences are getting harder to reach, so we’re trying to reach a younger audience with new ideas.
I wanted to try and find a way to solve that problem, and my only way is to use the thing I know. It’s storytelling, it’s video. It’s knowing these two types of organizations and finding a way to mash them together to benefit each other. Cross-pollinating, if you will. Most of my conservation work is documentary-style. That has a very insular audience. This is a way to engage new audiences, even if it’s as simple as inspiring a hike, birdwatching, or volunteer work – things that are non-monetary. The exposure is the big thing. I truly believe that at some point, it will turn into a small, annual donation to these organizations or multiple organizations.
The whole goal of this project is to show people, so I’ve been dying to show the film outside of a festival setting. Releasing it online and having the in-person screening will help us reach more people.
B: And you’re already working on the next film in the series?
TW: Yes. I’ve always dreamed of this being a full series focusing also on the barn owl and the loon. Xavi got in contact with Trillium Arts in North Carolina (run by former Chicago arts administrators and philanthropist couple Heather Hartley and Phil Reynolds) about their fellowship program. He described some projects he was planning, but the idea really clicked when he mentioned the barn owl film. Heather and Phil have seen a barn owl on their property, and Trillium has a big, red barn they’ve converted into a dance studio. We got the fellowship and went down for a week with two dancers (Duryea and Evan Boersma) and workshopped the choreography and think about how we were going to approach it. There was a presentation at the end of the fellowship (with a live barn owl!) and we got feedback in real time. We’re currently seeking funding for the Barn Owl film and hoping to partner with a non-profit.
The Chicago premiere screening will take place on Tuesday, June 17, at FACETS in Lincoln Park. The evening will also include a post-screening Q&A with director Tim Whalen and choreographer Xavier Nuñez, plus a sneak peek at the next film in the series, Barn Owl. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation. Reserve your spot at the screening by registering here.
How to Help
The International Crane Foundation works to conserve cranes and their ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways. Donations allow the organization to provide knowledge, leadership, and inspiration to engage people in resolving threats to cranes and their diverse landscapes worldwide.
You can also support the Joffrey Ballet so they can continue to host meaningful and artful performances. Donations also provide accessible arts education throughout Chicago and support world-class dance training for dancers of all ages and abilities.
More from Better Magazine
- A Day in the Life of a Joffrey Ballet Dancer: Behind the Scenes with Jonathan Dole
- National Geographic Photo Ark: Joel Sartore’s Urgent Mission to Document and Protect Earth’s Vanishing Species
- ‘One Image Can Change the World’: How Ami Vitale Uses Her Camera to Confront Extinction and the Climate Crisis
Vicki Crain is a Chicago-based freelance arts and culture writer and children’s book author. Her second book in The Furry Princess series was released late in 2024. For more information, visit quapublishing.com. She proudly supports International Crane Foundation.
