A hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, this engrossing and emotionally wrenching documentary examines our fascination with and fear of the majestic orca, and the shocking conditions which these awe-inspiring creatures are subjected to in marine amusement parks around the world.

Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival 2013

Official Selection, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival 2013

Many of us have experienced the excitement and awe of watching 8,000-pound orcas (a.k.a. killer whales) leap out of the water in performances at marine parks, as if in perfect harmony with their trainers. Yet even as they are beloved as majestic, friendly giants, the mighty mammals are also notorious for their capacity to kill with extraordinary ruthlessness and ferocity — which the marine-park industry has perverted from survival instinct to homicidal impulse. Featuring shocking, never-before-seen footage and riveting interviews with trainers and experts, the essential new documentary Blackfish examines the cruel treatment of orcas held in captivity over the last four decades, and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable marine-park industry. Emotionally wrenching and tautly structured, Blackfish challenges us to reconsider our relationship to nature, and reveals how little we have learned from these highly intelligent fellow mammals.

http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2013/2330020074