''Dominion'' is a 2018 Australian

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

filmed primarily with drones and

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

s inside Australian

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

s and macro-farms with the aim to expose an opaque and inhumane system, according to the film's writer, director, and producer, Chris Delforce, an

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

activist. The film documents multiple

animal abuse Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffe ...

industries in Australia, especially agricultural livestock, while focusing its message on animal rights. ''Dominion'' portrays the killing of animals through methods such as using

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

to gas pigs, maceration of chicks, and

skinning Skinning is the act of skin removal. The process is done by humans to animals, mainly as a means to prepare the meat beneath for cooking and consumption, or to harvest the skin for making fur clothing or tanning it to make leather. The sk ...

foxes alive.

Production

''Dominion'' was managed by the animal protection and animal rights organisation, Farm Transparency Project, previously known as Aussie Farms. The film was funded through crowdfunding campaigns and the Australian animal rights organisation

Voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies v ...

. It features narration by the famous actors

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

Rooney Mara Rooney Mara Phoenix ( ; born Patricia Rooney Mara; April 17, 1985) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born into the Rooney and Mara fam ...

and

Sadie Sink Sadie Elizabeth Sink (born April 16, 2002) is an American actress. She began her acting career in theater, playing the title role in the musical '' Annie'' (2012–14) and young Elizabeth II in the historical play '' The Audience'' (2015) on ...

, as well as the singer Sia. It premiered in Melbourne on 29 March 2018. It was filmed to be a feature-length documentary sequel to ''Lucent'' (2014), which mostly focused on the Australian pig farming industry.

Reception

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. ''Dominion'' has been used as a focal point for

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

protest groups, who encourage others to watch the documentary. Stencil promocional Dominion

Criticism

Australian farmers have been critical of the film, seeing it as an "attack on Australian farming". 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", while

Fiona Simson Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name ''Fíona'' means 'of wine', being the genitive of 'wine'. It was coined by Scottish writer James Macpherson. Initially, the name was confined to S ...

, president of the

National Farmers' Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organisation that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. The NFF has been a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, includ ...

, recognised that there was "room for improvement" by industry to improve animal welfare practices.

References

External links

* *
Complete film on YouTube (official)
{{Portal bar, Animals, Film, Australia 2018 documentary films 2018 films Australian documentary films Documentary films about agriculture Documentary films about animal rights Documentary films about veganism Indiegogo-funded films 2010s English-language films 2010s Australian films English-language documentary films

Production

Reception

Criticism

See also

References

External links