'Where the Whales Sing' a local documentary about humpback whales won the Emerging Underwater Filmmaker Award at a California festival.

Andrew Stevenson's film was honoured at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Monterey.

The film was directed by Mr. Stevenson and narrated by his six-year-old daughter Elsa.

It follows Mr. Stevenson as he tracks humpback whales in Bermuda, the Caribbean and off Canada's eastern coast.

"I had so many people come up to me and say they loved the film, that it was their favourite film of the festival," Mr. Stevenson said.

"The basic comment was that it had so much heart and soul. I think they sensed it was a father-daughter experience."

Although the film was praised when it screened at the Bermuda International Film Festival this year, Mr. Stevenson hadn't intended to try sending it to festivals abroad.

"I only entered in because someone came out to Bermuda from BLUE and handed out information. I just sent in a DVD with the title handwritten on the back.

"When they told me I was a finalist, I still wasn't going to go. Then I started to get a flurry of e-mails telling me I really needed to go. That's when I realised something was going on."

Despite strong competition from media giants like BBC and Disney, Mr. Stevenson's "home video" won the emerging filmmaker award on Saturday.

"I felt like a celebrity," he said. "While I was the person to get up and accept the award, I'm really just the tip of the spear. It really was a team effort. I couldn't have done this without my followers and supporters.

"This award is testament to the Bermuda team effort that went into making this documentary over the last three years.

"Elsa in particular deserves credit for giving the story shape and the extra dimension her narrative voice lent to the documentary."

His daughter couldn't join him on the trip but Mr. Stevenson said she was genuinely proud to have been a part of the film.

"We're already talking about ideas for a sequel," he said. "Four months ago I never wanted to do another film again, but now I'm excited again."

For more on the film,. go to www.filmbaby.com/films/4995 for a synopsis and clip of Mr. Stevenson's film.