Doc/Fest - Sheffield

In the middle of the night a group of activists plant specially designed hi-tech surveillance cameras on Japan’s Taiji coast. The footage lays bare detail they capture fishermen luring, kettling, then slaughtering hundreds of dolphins leaving the cove red with blood. Ex-dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry worked on TV’s ‘Flipper’ for years and developed a deep connection and love for dolphins. Soon, O’Barry’s respect for one of the world’s most intelligent mammals lead him to leave dolphin training and turn to activism to destroy the industry that made him. Directed by acclaimed photographer Louie Psihoyos, his team risk their lives to inch closer towards the core of a heartbreaking industry and reveal international double-dealing, political stalemates and cultural lies that have hitherto kept the annual slaughter out of the public eye. Much more than an activist’s journey, the intelligent structuring, stark cinematography and dangerously dedicated characters come together to deliver more charge and emotional intensity than a Hollywood caper.

"No small feat" - Time Out New York

"It has the breathless pace of a Bourne movie, but none of the comfort of fiction. This is documentary filmmaking at its most exciting and purposeful." - Rolling Stone