Seantience: a documentary exploring the capacity to feel of aquatic animals

We are pleased to announce the launch of Seantience, a short documentary produced by Animal Ethics and directed by Xiana Castro, which delves into the sentience of aquatic animals. It is available in English, Spanish, and soon in Chinese. You can view it here.

Seantience features interviews with some of the prominent scientists and philosophers, who present the most recent scientific evidence about the sentience of aquatic animals, including invertebrates. It includes:

• Eva Read and Professor Jonathan Birch, Foundations of Animal Sentience (ASENT), London School of Economics
• Daniela R. Waldhorn, Rethink Priorities and Centre for Animal Ethics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
• Mart R. Gross, professor of biology at the University of Toronto
• Oscar Horta, professor of moral philosophy at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

The documentary has been selected at the International Environmental Film Festival – SUNCINE and awarded the prize for best cinematography in the animal documentary short film category at the International Animal and Environmental Film Festival (FICAA). 

But Seantience is more than a documentary.

It is an international campaign aimed at raising awareness about one of the most disregarded and exploited animal groups; those farmed in the largest numbers: aquatic animals raised for food, especially invertebrates. Hosted at seantience.org, the campaign offers:

·⠀A documentary that makes the reality of these animals visible

·⠀Two rigorous and accessible reports on the sentience of aquatic animals

·⠀Multiple ways to help amplify this message, including talks and workshops.

Campaign progress

Since launching our campaign two months ago, the Seantience campaign has had a growing impact. We have held ten screenings, in collaboration with other organizations, in different cities, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Spain, Chile, and China, reaching hundreds of people interested in learning more about these animals. We have also published an updated version of our report on the aquatic animals’ sentience, which provides rigorous yet accessible information about these animals’ ability to feel, the problems they face, and what we can do to help them, providing a valuable resource for teachers at different educational levels, activists, or anyone interested in learning more about this topic.

We plan to expand the campaign even further next year, with more screenings and activities across different regions of Europe, Asia, and America. Follow us on social media or visit the Seantience website to stay up to date on the full schedule of our upcoming activities!

Help us go further in 2026

This Seantience campaign requires resources to reach even more people and continue producing quality content. We need funding to expand screenings to new regions and to produce the documentary in Portuguese and Chinese, thereby expanding our global reach in 2026.

If you want to be part of the campaign, you can do so in two ways:

• This is the best opportunity to donate because every dollar you contribute now will be DOUBLED. During these weeks and until January 7, a generous donor has committed to doubling all donations up to $30,000. So, a donation of $5 would become $10, $100 would become $200, and so on. This means that your contribution will have an even greater impact on our mission to create a better world for all sentient beings. You can make your donation here.
• If you would instead like to collaborate with us for a documentary screening at your institution, please reach out to us at [email protected].