In 2019, Simon Schneider and Sarah Sharkey Pearce set out to make a film about the last living Southern Resident Killer Whale in captivity, an orca named Lolita (or “Toki”), who had been captured in Puget Sound in 1970. Lolita spent more than half a century in the Miami Seaquarium’s “Whale Bowl’, a tank that measured 80 x 35 foot, and only 6 metres deep. As filming progressed, they joined a coalition of environmentalists, billionaire philanthopists, disenchanted ex trainers, and Lummi elders, all fighting to have the aging and ailing orca returned to her ocean home. It proves a long and painful odyssey, but also provides remarkable insights into how humans and animals feel about each other.
Apr 2: Q&A with director Simon Schneider & Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinely
Sarah Sharkey Pearce & Simon Schneider
Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris, Tah-Mahs Ellie Kinely
Canada
2024
English
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Credits
Screenwriter
Sarah Sharkey Pearce, Simon Schneider
Cinematography
Simon Schneider
Editor
Tony Kent
Original Music
Josh Zubot, Jesse Zubot
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