Freeing Flipper: A Documentary Tracing Ric O’Barry’s Fight for Dolphin Freedom

Appian Way—Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company—has joined Dogwoof, Copper Island, and Bay Rock as executive producers of *Freeing Flipper*. The film is directed by Barney Douglas (known for *McEnroe* and *Warriors*) and will be marketed internationally by Dogwoof at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) market. Executive producers also include Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson for Appian Way, while Will Kane, Anna Godas, and Oli Harbottle produce for Dogwoof. The cast features Oscar-winner Fisher Stevens, actress Maisie Williams, musician Stephen Stills, and O’Barry’s son Lincoln O’Barry. Dr. Jane Goodall appears in one of her final interviews before her death last year. Underwater cinematographer Pete Zuccarini ( *Life of Pi*, *Avatar* ) captured “dolphin-eye” sequences, with sound design by Emmy-nominated Dan Weinberg and a score by Felix White of The Maccabees.

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In the 1960s, Ric O’Barry trained the dolphins for the television series *Flipper*, which popularized dolphin imagery in the United States. The death of his dolphin Kathie—who died in his arms—prompted O’Barry to abandon marine-park work and found the Dolphin Project, a campaign exposing captivity practices and Japan’s dolphin hunts. His activism was a central element of the Oscar-winning 2009 documentary *The Cove*.

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Director Barney Douglas says the film explores the “extraordinary contradiction” of a man whose identity is inseparable from dolphins yet whose mission has exacted a personal toll.

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• “People saw The Cove and thought the story was over. It wasn’t. I’ve spent more than fifty years trying to give dolphins their freedom, and that choice has shaped my entire life – and the lives of my family,” — Ric O’Barry, activist “People saw The Cove and thought the story was over. It wasn’t. I’ve spent more than fifty years trying to give dolphins their freedom, and that choice has shaped my entire life – and the lives of my family,” — Ric O’Barry, fellow activist

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• “I was drawn to Ric’s story by the extraordinary contradiction at the heart of his life: a man whose relationship with dolphins has defined him, but has also come at a profound personal cost. His lifelong fight to set dolphins free has taken him from jail cells to the Oscars, and I wanted to explore the complex layers of the man behind the mission.” — Barney Douglas, director “I was drawn to Ric’s story by the extraordinary contradiction at the heart of his life: a man whose relationship with dolphins has defined him, but has also come at a profound personal cost. His lifelong fight to set dolphins free has taken him from jail cells to the Oscars, and I wanted to explore the complex layers of the man behind the mission.” — Ultimately

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