film

THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE illuminates the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world. Through the heart and lens of photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur, audiences become intimately familiar with a cast of non-human animals. Each story and photograph is a window into global animal industries: Food, Fashion, Entertainment and Research.

Long Synopsis

With the exception of our companion animals and a few wild and stray species within our urban environments, we experience animals daily only as the food, clothing, animal tested goods and entertainment we make of them. This moral dilemma is often hidden from our view …

THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE is a multi-award winning documentary that illuminates the lives of individual animals living within and rescued from the machine of our modern world. Through the heart and lens of photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur, audiences become intimately familiar with a cast of non-human animals. The film follows Jo-Anne over the course of a year as she photographs several animal stories in parts of Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. Each story and photograph is a window into global animal industries: Food, Fashion, Entertainment and Research.

The film charts McArthur’s efforts to bring wider attention to a topic that most of humankind strives hard to avoid. Are non-human animals property to be owned and used, or are they sentient beings deserving of rights? “The connection that I have to animals while I’m photographing them is one of empathy. There is a huge mistreatment and inequality between human and non-human animals, and that’s always in the forefront of my mind.” – Jo-Anne McArthur

Outreach Work Supported

Partnership with Humane Research Council to assess impact and creation of impact report on the campaign.