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Actor/director/producer Adrian Grenier made a stop at Ringling College of Art and Design last night as part of the 2014 Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab series, presented in collaboration with Studio Lab co-creator David Shapiro of Semkhor.

Grenier, best known for his work on the TV show Entourage and in movies like The Devil Wears Prada, screened Teenage Papparazzo—the documentary he recently produced and directed—and spoke to a packed crowd of students and locals. However, it was his current project that he was eager to discuss in a media roundtable prior to the screening.

52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World is a feature-length documentary about a whale who calls out at 52 Hz, a frequency unrecognized by any other whale. Researchers believe that the whale has lived its entire life in solitude; the documentary will take audiences on the filmmakers’ journey to find the creature. Grenier is a producer and enthusiastic proponent of the film.

And that's because for him, the documentary is about more than just science or ocean exploration. “It’s about our ability to have empathy for other species,” he says. “We’re not just making a movie—we’re also building a community of people who can rally behind our hero character. Who hasn’t been an outsider [at some point]—who can’t relate to this whale, who’s all alone?”

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Grenier hopes to tap into the talent and resources available at Ringling College and Mote Marine Laboratory to accomplish his goal of completing the film. He spent time working with students at Ringling, and also had the opportunity to visit Mote.

“We were very fortunate to make the connection between what we’re doing and what’s happening here in Sarasota with media and digital education and filmmaking—and of course the science focus through Mote,” he says. “It’s right in line with what we want to do with the film—and, of course, there’s the very honorable aspirations of this community to be innovators in media and communications and science. It’s a serendipitous opportunity for all of us.”

For more information about 52: The Search for the Loneliest Whale in the World, visit 52thesearch.com, follow along on Twitter or Instagram at @theloneywhale or on Facebook at facebook.com/52thesearch.

Second photo courtesy of Grenier’s Instagram