RESIDENT ORCA
RESIDENT ORCA tells the unfolding story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the impossible task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a baby, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North America. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her?
We are thrilled to have been brought onto the RESIDENT ORCA team by directors Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider. Pender PR has supported the project since before it’s launch at the Miami International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Documentary Achievement Award & Made in MIA Feature Award. We are on board to launch the film in festivals around the globe and are excited to bring this important and heartbreaking film to wider audiences upon release. Our kickoff to the press began with the new that ‘My Octopus Teacher’ Producer Off The Fence Acquired the documentary feature. We placed the news exclusively in DEADLINE and had pickup in Playback, Realscreen, IMDb, C21Media and more. More festival news and reviews to come…
“Sharkey Pearce and Schneider have produced a stunning and compelling film that we know will leave audiences profoundly moved. Our deep-rooted kinship with animals is powerfully told through the heroism of the Lummi Tribe and their fight to set Lolita the whale free. Resident Orca is a perfect example of a film that represents Off the Fence’s core values of championing authentic human and animal storytelling as well as impact programming. Sharing stories that include Indigenous ways of knowing is vital in expanding our understanding of the home we all share and we are proud to be entrusted with such a powerful film that cannot help but inspire audiences worldwide.”
— Stated Off the Fence Acquisitions Executive Isobel Kinnear,
Synopsis
Resident Orca tells the unfolding story of a captive whale’s fight for survival and freedom. After decades of failed attempts to bring her home, an unlikely partnership between Indigenous matriarchs, a billionaire philanthropist, killer whale experts, and the aquarium’s new owner take on the impossible task of freeing Lolita, captured 53 years ago as a baby, only to spend the rest of her life performing in the smallest killer whale tank in North America. When Lolita falls ill under troubling circumstances, her advocates are faced with a painful question: is it too late to save her?