Author Archives: Theresa Demarest

About Theresa Demarest

Nowhere in recent history has a captive mammal garnered so much attention as Keiko, the orca star of the 1993 hit film, “Free Willy.” The film’s success, partnered with growing public interest in animals held in captivity, launched a children’s crusade that called for Keiko’s release into the wild. The result: a multimillion-dollar project that spanned four countries, weathered endless controversy and lasted nearly a decade. Through first-hand accounts by the marine mammal experts charged with his care, “Keiko The Untold Story” follows Keiko, his life, his legacy of hope, and the untold story of his extraordinary years in Iceland and Norway.

Keiko Kickstarter Campaign reward boost

The next 50 people to pledge to our Kickstarter Campaign we will double the reward you choose 🙂 Just Send us a message after you pledge from our Kickstarter campaign: Here’s the Link to our Kickstarter campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/255614217/bring-keiko-the-star-of-free-willy-to-hollywood

Keiko Deserves a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

We have submitted an application to the Walk of Fame Committee at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce  to obtain a Star on the Walk of Fame for Keiko, because we think he deserves one. Pledge to our Kickstarter Campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/255614217/bring-keiko-the-star-of-free-willy-to-hollywood In order to bring attention to our efforts, we have created a Kickstarter campaign to bring the […]

Keiko The Untold Story of the Start of Free Willy Kickstarter campaign Update

Update:The project is currently 16% funded with 21 days to go.Thanks to all of you who participated with a pledge in our 24hour campaign to kickstart our project for a World Premier theater screening in Hollywood on the Kickstarter website This is what we accomplished together with the 24 hour campaign effort. Keiko The Untold […]

24 hour Kickstarter Campaign – Tuesday March 5th

We got off to a great start last week, but now the clock is ticking. Our entire time at Kickstarter is only 30 days, but we already have 28 people that have combined for over 1000.00! We need your help, please!   Great Start – Now What? To help things along, in four days, we […]

Keiko Kickstarter Project

Our Kickstarter project titled “Bring Keiko, The Star of Free Willy, to Hollywood” has launched. What Is Kickstarter? Kickstarter is an US based “for-profit” company that was founded in 2009, to provide tools for raising funds for creative projects with “crowd funding” through their website. Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of projects, from indie […]

Free Willy Movie, Earth Island Institute, and how it all got started

Filmmaker Theresa Demarest interview with Mark Berman, Associate Director of the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation at the airport in preparation for the filming of the documentary film Keiko The Untold Story. When asked how the Earth Island Institute got involved with the movie Free Willy out comes the interconnections between Earth Island’s Dolphin Safe Tuna Program, […]

Mark Berman, Associate Director of Free Willy-Keiko Foundation

Keiko’s rehabilitation and return to the wild is cited by the marine park industry and often repeated by the media as a failed project. As a result, Keiko’s historic journey is often given as the reason captive orcas should not be released at all. Factual errors regarding Keiko’s return to the wild abound. During the […]

2011 San Francisco Ocean Film Festival – Audience Q&A

In 2011 Keiko The Untold Story enjoyed the honor of being chosen as an ‘Official Selection’ and won awards at several film festivals across the country. This is an excerpt of a Question and Answer session with the audience at the Pier 39 Theater as part of the 2011 San Franciso Ocean Film Festival with Filmmaker […]