Earlier in on the year 3 Dogwoof titles were nominated for the first annual PUMA Creative Impact Award, with films The Age of Stupid, Burma VJ and The End of the Line all up for the award. The Awards ceremony is due to be announced on the 11th October so to celebrate we are profiling one of the films every day this week, and for the last in the series we take a look at The End of the Line.
Filmed over two years, The End of the Line follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the oceans. The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world on the issue of sustainable fishing.
The End of the Line with support from Greenpeace, Brit Doc and Waitrose premiered on World Oceans Day – Monday 8th June 2010, simultaneously on 46 screens across the UK and had a huge impact. After seeing the film household names changed their practices and switched to msustainable sources of fish
In the same week that the film was released, Marks and Spencer announced it was switching all of its canned tuna to pole-and-line caught skipjack, the most plentiful tuna species, while its fresh tuna will be line-caught yellowfin. Prêt A Manger announced a total change in its fish buying policy after founder Julian Metcalfe saw the film at a preview screening and then arranged a private screening for senior management. The company press released the news on the day the film opened. In March 2010, Whiskas & Sheba became the first cat foods to source fish from Marine Stewardship Council certified products, again directly crediting the power of the film. The End of the Line and the issues within it secured significant support from celebrity advocates including Prince Charles, Greta Scacchi, Emilia Fox, Terry Gilliam, Richard E Grant, Stephen Fry and Sarah Brown among others.Gordon Ramsay, Angela Hartnett, Joel Robuchon, Giorgio Locatelli and Tom Aikens all banned bluefin from their restaurants.
Jamie Oliver who was shown in the film recommending bluefin tuna on his TV show, not only stopped serving the fish in his restaurants and removed it from his recipe books, and he was part of a Channel 4 season in January 2011 called The Big Fish Fight which directly assessed sustainability alongside Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay. Carluccio’s announced they would no longer serve net-caught fish.
To celebrate the films nomination we have reduced the DVD in the Dogwoof Shop for a limited period - grab a copy for just £5 now!
The €50,000 Creative Impact award will honour and support the documentary film that has made the most significant impact on society. The top films cover topics ranging from environmental issues to social justice and global conflict, and all five documentaries have enlightened and inspired individuals about global concerns. The winner will be chosen by an elite jury that includes: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Morgan Spurlock (Academy Award-nominated Director of Super Size Me), Orlando Bagwell (Director of the JustFilms initiative at the Ford Foundation), Emmanuel Jal (musician and activist), and Thandie Newton (BAFTA award-winning actress).