Blackfish
An investigative filmmaker dives into the dark world of marine parks to expose how captivity drives a celebrated killer whale into deadly aggression, forcing audiences to confront the moral cost of entertainment.
“Never capture what you can't control.”
Synopsis
Tilikum, a notorious killer whale, is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a senior killer whale trainer. The documentary *Blackfish* examines the often severe consequences of keeping highly intelligent and sentient animals like orcas in captivity.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 146+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Eli B DespresShot by Jonathan IngallsScored by Jeff BealSound by Craig Plachy
Box Office
2013 · Box office
Grossed $2.1M worldwide
Worldwide gross
$2.1M
Opening week (7-day): $123K
Peak 5 theaters
Also known as
- Der Killerwalde
- L'orque tueusefr
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Cast & Crew
146 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Tilikum
as Self - Killer Whale
Dean Gomersall
as Self
Dave Duffus
as Self - OSHA Expert Witness, Whale Researcher
Samantha Berg
as Self
John Jett
as Self
John Hargrove
as Self
Carol Ray
as Self
Mark Simmons
as Self - Former SeaWorld Trainer
Jeffrey Ventre
as Self
Kim Ashdown
as Self - Former SeaWorld Trainer
James Earl Jones
as Self - SeaWorld Commercial Actor
Ken Balcomb
as Self
Supporting cast
48Shamu
as Self - Killer Whale
Thomas Tobin
as Self
Estefania Rodriguez
as Self
Mercedes Martinez
as Self
John Crowe
as Self
Howard Garrett
as Self
Jim Payne
as Self - Local TV Reporter
Eric Walters
as Self
Martha Sugalski
as Self - Local TV Reporter
Steve Huxter
as Self
Christopher Porter
as Self
David Kirby
as Self - Author 'Death at SeaWorld
Corinne Cowell
as Self
Nadien Kallen
as Self
Suzanne Allee
as Self
Lori Marino
as Self
Diane Brancheau
as Self
Dawn Brancheau
as Self
John Sillick
as Self
Tamarie Tollison
as Self
Kelty Burn
as Self - Sealand Victim
Alexis Martinez
as Self
Keltie Byrne
as Self
Whoopi Goldberg
as Self
Anderson Cooper
as Self
Kelly Clark
as Self - SeaWorld Head Trainer
John Black
as Self - OSHA Attorney
Ken Welsch
as Self - Judge
Katina
as Self - Killer Whale
Kalina
as Self - Killer Whale
Kasatka
as Self - Killer Whale
Takara
as Self - Killer Whale Baby of Kasatka
Kandu
as Self - Killer Whale
Corky
as Self - Killer Whale
Orkid
as Self - Killer Whale
Splash
as Self - Killer Whale
Robin Sheets
as Self
Meredith Vieira
as Self
Ken Peters
as Self - SeaWorld Trainer
Daniel Dukes
as Self - Drowned SeaWorld Victim
Valerie Dratch
as Self - Witness
Jim Solomons
as Self - Spokesman, Orange County Sheriff's Office
Thad Lacinak
as Self - Former SeaWorld Executive
Dave Mcdaniel
as Self - Reporter
Chuck Tompkins
as Self - SeaWorld Director
Jeff Andrews
as Self - SeaWorld Expert Witness
Namu
as Self - Killer Whale
Robert Carradine
as Self - Ken
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
9Charles Salice
animation executive producer: ODD-NY (as Charles V. Salice)
Charlotte Brownlee
assistant to executive producers
Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Producer
Jeff Beal
conductor / music producer / musician: bass / musician: piano, trumpet
Manny Oteyza
Producer
Phillipe Vicente
consulting producer
Rick Brookwell
executive producer
Sim T Davidson
post-production producer
Tim Case
animation executive producer: ODD-NY
Other crew
81Xavier Ramirez
(archive footage)
Terrance Redd Claiborne
additional camera: Atlanta (as Redd Claiborne)
Sara Hoff
additional camera: Orlando
Angela Bernardoni
additional camera: San Juan Island
Elisa Bonora
additional editing
Richard Mazikowski
additional editor
Shawn Coffman
additional sound recordist, production assistant
Gary Breslin
animation director
Matthew Turke
animation head of production: ODD-NY
Berkan Halil
assistant art director
Matthaeus Szumanski
assistant editor
Andrew Jewell
assistant on-line editor
Parents Guide
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