From veganfoodandliving.com
By Helen Greaves
Moby, Soul Eubanks, and Peter Egan are among the renowned activists speaking out in a new documentary challenging humanity's oldest prejudices against animals
A star-studded documentary from animal protection organisation Lady Freethinker has been challenging humanity’s treatment of the natural world across the 2026 film festival circuit.
Featuring interviews with prominent figures including Moby, Peter Egan, Soul Eubanks, Mya, and Kristen Bauer, We Are Animals examines the cognitive and emotional parallels between humans and other species, and how global industries drive systematic exploitation of our non-human counterparts.
Executive producer and Lady Freethinker founder Nina Jackel created the feature-length documentary to urge viewers to rethink their choices while highlighting exploitative practices in industries like food, fashion, and medical testing.
Speaking to VegNews, Jackel explained: “Animals are so often dismissed as the ‘other’ whilst their suffering goes ignored. I wanted to create a film that would demonstrate, from a scientific perspective, how other species experience life in a similar way to humans, with thoughts and feelings that mean the world to them just as ours do to us.”
Award-winning We Are Animals documentary
The documentary combines scientific evidence with personal anecdotes to show that complex consciousness isn’t unique to humans. From wild orangutans fashioning umbrellas out of leaves to cows maintaining close best friends, its story demonstrates the deep sentience present throughout the animal kingdom.
Directed by Kirk Murray and Nicholas Tana, the production features prominent cultural figures, including musician Moby, comedian Nikki Glaser, philosopher Peter Singer, and actor Alison Pill. Grassroots advocates, such as representatives from Animal Equality and the LA Vegan Food Bank, also detail legislative and community efforts to dismantle industrial abuse.
After winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary when it debuted at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival, We Are Animals went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the Studio City Film Festival, collecting four festival accolades before concluding its tour at the LA Femme International Film Festival.
When the film premiered earlier this year, director Kirk Murray told Hollywood Times how the documentary had become “one of the most important projects [he’d] ever undertaken.”
“If this documentary encourages even a few people to think differently, ask difficult questions, or act with greater compassion, then it has achieved exactly what I set out to do,” he said.
Animal activism with Lady Freethinker
Nina Jackel founded Lady Freethinker in 2013, using the platform to launch petitions and investigations against exploitative industries including fur farming, animal tourism, and the dog meat trade.
The documentary is a major project for the organisation, and a natural extension of its mission to end animal cruelty and create a more compassionate world for all beings. However, it was created with an emphasis on education rather than guilt.
“Animals are unable to tell the world of their suffering, but we can,” Jackel said to Hollywood Times. “This documentary was born from a deep urgency to expose the systems that allow exploitation to run rampant and speak out to encourage a more compassionate world for our fellow species.”
“We live in a time and place with unprecedented access to knowledge as well as options as consumers,” she said. “I hope people leave the theatre inspired and empowered, knowing they can help make a difference.”
Discover more inspiring vegan documentaries
https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/award-winning-documentary-we-are-animals/
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