
17TH ANNUAL
SANTA MONICA FILM FESTIVAL
JANUARY 2023

SMFF CLOSING FILM
LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
PRESENTING SPONSOR
THE ANIMAL PEOPLE
More than ten years in the making, the feature documentary THE ANIMAL PEOPLE, from directors Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly, follows the journey of six young activists who find themselves indicted as terrorists by the United States government. The reason for their indictment: the activists' leadership of a controversial protest campaign aiming to close down one of the largest animal testing laboratories in the world. The activists used the then fledgling internet to dramatically magnify their impact and systematically knocked down pillars of financial support for the lab. But when protests began to mushroom into dead-of-night vandalism and worse by unknown underground elements, the FBI stepped in. The Bureau began an unprecedented campaign of surveillance, creating a model that would later be used against Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. The United States Congress, under corporate pressure, rewrote laws in specific preparation for prosecution, potentially weakening free speech rights for all Americans.
Featuring expansive interviews with the six activists spanning more than a decade, rare archival footage – including never-before-seen surveillance footage, wiretaps, and government documents - The Animal People is a chilling portrait of what happens when activism rattles the institutions of power.
Directed by
Denis Henry Hennelly
Executive Producer
Produced by
Mikko Alanne ...producer
James Costa...executive producer
Jorja Fox...producer
Sasha Perry...producer
Andy Roth...producer
Ari Solomon...producer
Casey Suchan...producer
Hal Weiss...producer
Original Score by
Patrick Loghetti
Joaquin Pastor
Film Editing by
Sound Department
Ryan Cole...dialogue editor
Polly McKinnon... dialogue editor
Bob Kellough...sound design & mixer
Graphics by
Mindbomb Films
Editorial Department
Kelly Reese...colorist
Publicist
Reviews
“POWERFUL… COMPELLING… HIGHLIGHTS A PIVOTAL CASE”
Sightlines Magazine
“INCREDIBLE”
Richard Whittaker, The Austin Chronicle
“EYE-OPENING… will stick with you long after you've watched.”
Shuffle
Running Time
1 hr 36 min (96 min)
Official Facebook
Los Angeles Premiere Date
Saturday November 30 @ 7:30P
Venue
AMC Broadway 4
1441 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica CA 90401