©Wolfgang Kaehler http://phototours.us
THE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE AND THE BRUTAL TRUTH ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN CAPTIVE ORCAS
THE FILM
Long Gone Wild focuses on the plight of captive orcas, picking up where the acclaimed documentary Blackfish left off while telling a uniquely new and different story...
The film centers on five primary areas: (1) The Blackfish Effect (what it did and didn't accomplish i.e., SeaWorld took a major hit to its bottom line, but the 20 orcas are still there); (2) The case against captivity (orcas are forced to live in barren concrete tanks); (3) Orcas as sentient animals (their great capacity to think, feel, communicate, and empathize); (4) The Whale Sanctuary Project and its model seaside sanctuary for retired orcas – providing a safe, permanent home in their natural habitat; and, (5) The ominous threat to orcas posed by Russia and China, triggered by the explosive growth of mega-aquariums in China.
We tell this compelling story via arresting visuals, a memorable sound track, and interviews with the leading experts in the field: Dr. Naomi Rose (Animal Welfare Institute); Dr. Lori Marino and Charles Vinick (The Whale Sanctuary Project); Dr. Ingrid Visser (internationally renowned orca expert); Carol Ray and Jeffrey Ventre (former SeaWorld Trainers); Jeffrey Foster (a NOAA Environmental Hero of the Year) and conservationist Katy Laveck Foster; authors David Kirby ("Death at SeaWorld") and David Neiwert ("Of Orcas and Men"); Steven Wise (President, Nonhuman Rights Project and star of the Emmy-nominated documentary Unlocking the Cage); Dr. Terry Kupers (Forensic Psychiatrist/expert on solitary confinement); OSHA attorney Joe Woodward; Rachel Carbary (Founder, "Empty the Tanks") and Carly Ferguson (President, Ontario Captive Animal Watch); Assemblyman Richard Bloom (author of the landmark California Orca Protection Act) and FL State Rep Jared Moskowitz (pushing his own orca protection bill); Stephen Wells (Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund); and, Ric O'Barry (Founder, Dolphin Project and star of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove).