Those of you who know me may have already guessed I am not always a patient man. Moreover, I have an attitude about movies and plays. They are like people. Most of the ones you encounter are full of bullsh*t, and there is too much background music. A few are very enjoyable. Keiko the Untold Story was more than enjoyable, it was intense. Watching it was an experience.
I was not involved in any part of it during the four years it was being produced, and was only aware of the content in a general way. My brief encounters with the movie staff were perplexing to me because my familiarity with the subject matter was superficial, and I did not understand why this group of intelligent and accomplished people were so adamant that the movie be produced.
After I viewed the screening last Friday, the entire production procedure made sense (some things take time for me to process).
The movie is due for release in June and I highly recommend you see it with a couple of friends or family; do not go alone, and be ready to hang on for a hard ride.
Saludos,
Pat
Keiko the Untold Story, produced by Theresa Demarest, sceened on:
Friday, October 15 at 12 P.M., at the Sixth Annual LA Femme Film Festival -- Located at 1125 N McCadden Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90038-1212 – just off Santa Monica Blvd.
Phone: (323) 860-7302
The the Sixth Annual LA Femme Film Festival ran October 14- 17, 2010. Keiko the Untold Story screened at the Davidson Valentini Theater, The Village at Ed Gould Plaza in Hollywood, on Friday, October 15, at 12 P.M.
Four years in the making, this compelling documentary presents never before seen footage of Keiko, the Free Willy star, the first and only captive Orca to released back into the wild. I believe you will find this movie very unique, worthwhile and superbly produced.
For more information see URL: http://www.keikotheuntoldstory.com/
Or Twitter: http://twitter.com/KeikoDoc
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Review of Keiko: The Untold Story at Denver Film Festival, October, 2010
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Keiko the Untold Story USA, 2010, 74 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Animals, Art/Filmmaking, Documentary, Family Friendly
Program: Documentary Films
Language: English
DIRECTOR: Theresa Demarest
Producer: Theresa Demarest
Editor: Theresa Demarest
Screenwriter: Theresa Demarest
Cinematographer: Julie Murray
Principal Cast: Colin Baird, Mark Berman, Naomi Rose, Paul Spong, Thorbjorg Valdis
Though the orca whale known as Keiko starred in the 1993 movie Free Willy, he lived most of his life in captivity. It was only with the launch of a campaign based on drawings by schoolchildren that enough money was raised to rehabilitate him and return him to the wild. Those who trained and cared for Keiko, the second-longest-lived orca in captivity, believe it was his indomitable spirit that kept him alive so long.
The story of his life is told by director/producer/writer/editor Theresa Demarest through footage from an array of conservation and environmental organizations, including that of Jean-Michel Cousteau. Keiko the Untold Story was made in large part to counteract the widespread perception that the rehabilitation and release efforts were a failure and that Keiko died soon after his release into the waters off his native Iceland. In fact, the orca, carefully trained for two years, spent the transition traveling with pods of wild killer whales; undertaking a solo journey from Iceland to Norway; and living in a seawater fjord, attended by his trainers, for 18 months before his abrupt death from disease in late 2003 at the age of 27.
But new Keikos are born every day: the heartrending capture of another baby orca, caught on camera, is narrated by marine mammal scientists who go into depth about the structure of orca society and the suffering a young whale endures when confined to the concrete tanks of aquarium facilities. No less poignant are the scenes of young children expressing their shock, with indignant and quavering voices, that the lives of many Willies have no Hollywood ending.
—Val Moses
In cooperation with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
