Dominion (2018 film)

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Dominion
Dominion poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byChris Delforce
Written byChris Delforce
Produced byChris Delforce, Farm Transparency Project
Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix
Rooney Mara
Sadie Sink
Sia
Kat Von D
Edited byChris Delforce
Music byAsher Pope
Release dates
  • 29 March 2018 (2018-03-29)(Melbourne, Australia)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Dominion is a 2018 Australian documentary film. The documentary was primarily filmed with hidden cameras and drones inside Australian farms and abattoirs. According to the New York Times, Dominion "claims to expose the routine and inhumane practices of animal agriculture in Australia". [1] The film portrayed the killing of livestock through methods such as using carbon dioxide to gas pigs, and maceration of chicks. [2] [3] [4] The film uses shock tactics with footage to depict abuse as common in multiple industries in Australia, especially agricultural livestock while focusing its message on animal rights. [5] [3] [6]

Contents

Dominion was managed by the animal protection and animal rights organisation, Farm Transparency Project, previously known as Aussie Farms, and was written, directed, and produced by animal rights activist Chris Delforce. [3] The film was funded through crowdfunding campaigns and the Australian animal rights organisation Voiceless. [3] It features narration by the actors Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and Sadie Sink, as well as the singer Sia. [7] It premiered in Melbourne on 29 March 2018. [8] It was filmed to be a feature-length documentary sequel to Lucent (2014), which mostly focused on the Australian pig farming industry. [9]

Following its release, Dominion received the award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival, and Delforce won Best Director at the Festigious International Film Festival. [3] Dominion has been used as a focal point for vegan protest groups, who encourage the general public to watch the documentary. [2]

Guerrilla-style marketing for the film Stencil promocional Dominion.jpg
Guerrilla-style marketing for the film

Australian farmers have been critical of the film, seeing it as an "attack on Australian farming". [1] The Australian Meat Industry Council Chief Executive, Patrick Hutchinson, has said, "What the film shows is not representative of the practices of the wider industry", [9] while the president of the National Farmers' Federation Fiona Simson recognised that there was "room for improvement" by industry to improve animal welfare practices. [9]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Albeck-Ripka, Livia (10 April 2019). "Protests in Australia Pit Vegans Against Farmers". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 Cuthbertson, Debbie (12 April 2019). "Vegan protests: Flash in the pan or seismic social shift?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "What is the 'Dominion' documentary vegan protesters are promoting?". www.9news.com.au. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. "Pork industry hits back at slaughter process criticism after 'distressing' footage of gassing made public". ABC News. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. Alonso-Recarte, Claudia (20 January 2022). "Tiger King and the Exegesis of COVID-19 Media Coverage of Nonhuman Animals". Journalism and Media. 3 (1): 99–114. doi: 10.3390/journalmedia3010008 . There are also documentaries such as Earthlings (Monson 2005) and Dominion (Delforce 2018) that construct their shock tactics with the accumulation of footage of wanton cruelty and abuse in a number of industries (food, clothing, entertainment, tourism, the pharmaceutical and medical research industries, etc.).
  6. von Mossner, Alexa Weik (2021). "Feeling Bad? Veganism, Climate Change, and the Rhetoric of Cowspiracy". Veg(etari)an Arguments in Culture, History, and Practice. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 248. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53280-2_10. ISBN   978-3-030-53282-6. S2CID   236717428.
  7. Pritchett, Liam (30 August 2019). "The Scariest Movie Ever Made Is a Vegan Documentary". LiveKindly.co. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. Ettinger, Jill (26 March 2018). "Vegan Documentary 'Dominion' Starring Joaquin Phoenix Holds Sold-Out World Premiere This Week". Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 Mitchell, Joely (4 April 2018). "Industry braces for documentary backlash". Queensland Country Life. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.