Fin: Leonardo DiCaprio Backs Eli Roth Film Highlighting Global Shark ‘Massacre’

Some of Hollywood’s biggest names have joined forces to make Fin, a new environmental documentary. The film, whose trailer just dropped, is set to debut on U.S. subscription streaming service Discovery Plus next month. Directed by lauded horror filmmaker Eli Roth, the movie charts the dark underworld behind the plight of sharks and aims to shock viewers into taking action to protect the species. 

Roth, the director behind successes like Knock Knock and Cabin Fever, is diving into the environmental documentary world with his new film Fin. It’s set to air on Discovery Plus on July 13, as part of the streaming platform’s summer Shark Week programming. 

“I’ve spent years making this film in secrecy and can finally announce it to the world,” announced Roth, in a social media post. “On July 13th, you can see the horrors I learned about the global shark slaughter.” 

Celebrities unite to expose shark underworld 

Roth, the writer, director and executive producer behind the film, is joined by a star-studded list of celebrities. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Away Productions is producing the film together with Lionsgate’s Pilgrim Media Group. DiCaprio himself features as an executive producer, along with actress Nina Dobrev. 

Other executive producers include the president of Lionsgate Nonfiction Television, Craig Piligian, Gretchen Stockdale and Nicholas Caprio, among others. 

You can see the horrors I learned about the global shark slaughter.

Eli Roth

“Working with Eli and the group of experts on this documentary has been mind-blowing and immensely educational. For years, we’ve perceived sharks as monsters but what’s truly monstrous is what’s happening to these beautiful creatures,” commented Piligian, as quoted in Variety. 

Read: You’ve probably eaten shark meat – here’s the shark facts you need to know

‘Now more than ever is the time for sharks’

Fin will showcase the work of photographer Michael Muller and conservation organisations like Oceana, Sea Shepherd and Wild Aid in their fight to save sharks. The movie is full of scary facts, including the reality that 100 million sharks are being slaughtered every year. That means 247,000 sharks killed per day. 

In the film, Roth dives into the massacre of sharks, most famously the continued demand for shark fin soup across Asia. 

This may be the scariest film I have ever made because it’s real, but it doesn’t have to be.

Eli Roth

“I’ve partnered with the top scientists, NGOs and activists to show the problem from all sides and present solutions we can all do to save sharks before they’re gone,” said Roth. 

“This may be the scariest film I have ever made because it’s real, but it doesn’t have to be. Fifty years ago the world came together to save the whales, then it was dolphins, then orcas and now more than ever is the time for sharks.”

Hong Kong: a major shark fin hub

Tracking and documenting the global shark fin industry, part of the film sees Roth discover the rampant trade in Hong Kong. Of the 100 million sharks caught worldwide for their fins, meat and other products, an estimated 50% is traded in Hong Kong.

Speaking to Green Queen Media, Oceans Asia founder Gary Stokes, said: “Hong Kong is the ground zero of the shark fin industry with more than 50% of all shark fins passing through the territory. It was critical for Eli Roth and his film crew to shoot here and I cannot wait to see the film knowing all the elements we uncovered and filmed here.”

Stokes, who is featured in Fin alongside Roth, added: “Fin comes at a crucial time. The U.S. Senate have a Bill coming up to ban the entire shark fin trade within the country.”

Read: The world’s biggest shark fin importer, Hong Kong, sees demand dip in favor of conservation

Lead image courtesy of Fin The Movie.