30,000 Monkeys in Our Backyard Selected for Georgia Shorts Film Festival

Species Unite’s first ever documentary 30,000 Monkeys in Our Backyard, which tells the inspirational story of a small Georgia community coming together to challenge a secretive plan to build the nation’s largest monkey-breeding facility for laboratory testing in their town, has been officially selected to screen at the Georgia Shorts Film Festival in Atlanta this June.

Still from 30,000 Monkeys in Our Backyard

This film has already reached over 382,000 people online and helped push forward lasting change. Right after the release of the film, in a historic shift, Bainbridge elected Sylvia Washington as mayor, a vocal opponent of the proposed monkey-breeding facility and a leader many in the community see as a critical voice in stopping the project. Now, Yvena Merritt, one of the film’s protagonists and a leading force in the movement to stop the facility, is running for District 1 Commissioner, taking her fight for the future of her community and her opposition to corrupt politics and backroom dealings to the next level. As she notes on her official campaign page, “when I am elected, transparency and accessibility won’t be goals they will be the standard.”

We are incredibly proud that our film, which tells this powerful and deeply personal story, will be showcased at a film festival in the capital of the state where it takes place. Bringing this story to an Atlanta audience is a major moment for this campaign, helping to shine an even brighter spotlight on what’s happening in Bainbridge and build momentum where it matters most. With more eyes on this issue than ever before, we are hopeful that this growing awareness will help ensure the facility is never built, and that the people of Bainbridge continue to win the fight to protect their community.

If you are in the Atlanta area and interested in attending, the festival will take place from June 19–21 at 7 Stages Theatre (1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA). Feel free to message us if you would like to see the film there, and we will keep you updated once the official screening date and time are announced.