The Last Dolphin King premieres on Netflix on November 25

A dark and tragic story about the rise and fall of José Luis Barbero, the last dolphin king

Netflix unveiled today the official trailer and the first images of the documentary film The Last Dolphin King,  directed by Luis Ansorena Hervés and Ernest Riera, produced by Polar Star Films, which will arrive on Netflix on November 25th after its screening at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).  

The Last Dolphin Kingis the result of an in-depth research conducted between 2015 and 2022, which began with the intention of becoming a research article but, given the local and international impact of the story, became a documentary for which more than 57 hours of interviews were filmed.

The documentary film, which examines the international scandal surrounding dolphin trainer José Luis Barbero, gathers a wide range of exclusive testimonies, collected for the first time and during more than a year of filming, with nearly twenty voices, including those of family members and colleagues of José Luis Barbero, animal activists, entrepreneurs in the marine park industry and journalists linked to the trajectory of one of the most renowned dolphin trainers in history.

Hundreds of hours of unpublished footage had to be organized, digitized and classified to incorpórate into the film household and personal archives from many of these sources including the original footage that was shot to produce the 99-second video that led to the downfall of José Luis Barbero.

"Many people have tried every way they can to stop us from telling this story. If we have gone ahead for the last seven years, it is because we consider that its public interest is clear. We are convinced that whoever watches this documentary will have enough elements to form an opinion about dolphinariums and about the price of captivity on animals and people" share the directors of the documentary, Luis Ansorena and Ernest Riera.

Synopsis of The Last Dolphin King

José Luis Barbero, one of the world’s most famous dolphin trainers, is at the peak of his 30-year-career. He has just been hired as a Vice-President by the prestigious Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta (USA), when a 99-second blurry video is released online. It allegedly shows him abusing the dolphins under his care. 

A scandal ensues, but Barbero claims he doesn’t recognize himself in the video. He says he is innocent and a victim of a revenge scheme by some ex-employees. The affair breaks in the news across the globe dividing those who fight to defend or denounce the master dolphin trainer. The dolphin trainer receives a wave of online hate, including death threats. A few weeks later Barbero disappears. This documentary thriller charts the epic rise and fall of Barbero until the moment of his disappearance. With footage from inside the marine parks where he worked, the film reveals the dark side of the industry from an insider’s perspective. 

Was the video of Barbero an attempt to bring down an outdated and cruel industry, or was its real intention a personal vendetta? Those at the heart of this dark and tragic story share their version of events for the first time.