“A life-changing film.”

Dr. Sylvia Earle

A gripping exposé of the polar bear fur trade, revealing how conservation, politics and commercial interests collide in ways the public was never meant to see.

Trade Secret follows three unlikely allies on a mission to protect polar bears from international commercial trade. Filmed over six years across nine countries, the film exposes the sanctioned sale of hundreds of polar bears each year on the global market. But as the investigation deepens, it uncovers a disturbing truth: those entrusted with safeguarding the species may be entangled in their continued commercialisation. The film raises urgent questions about how we protect vulnerable species in a world where the lines between protection and exploitation have become blurred.

Synopsis

“It is a superbly crafted work - powerful, urgent, and deeply moving. It sheds light on a matter of global importance, and it does so with both journalistic integrity and cinematic finesse.”

Wolfgang Knöpfler,
Producer of ‘The Ivory Game’ and ‘Sea of Shadows’.

“A breathtaking masterpiece and unflinching exposé - confronting humanity’s betrayal of the wild and the devastating cost of losing a species forever.”

Kartiki Gonsalves
Academy Award winning director of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’

Upcoming Screenings

October 20th

Trade Secret has been selected as the OPENING NIGHT film for the globally recognised Wildscreen Summit in Bristol, UK. The screening will take place at the Bristol Megascreen with a full capacity of 350 seats. Summit pass holders will have first access to tickets, with general public tickets to be released soon. The film is also nominated for Best Independent Film at this year’s Panda Awards, one of the highest honours in natural history filmmaking.

Tickets on Sale now - they are going fast!

Opening Film at Wildscreen
Bristol, UK

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October 25th

Adelaide Film Festival hosted the Australian Premiere of Trade Secret on October 16th with the second screening on Oct 25th. AFF describes the film as “a meticulously composed exposé…Trade Secret avoids sensationalism in favour of clear-eyed, forensic storytelling. Calm and quietly damning.”

Australian Premiere at Adelaide Film Festival
Adelaide, Australia

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November 1st

Trade Secret has been selected as the Centre­piece film at the prestigious Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival in Washington, DC. The screening will be followed by a live discussion with Abraham Joffe and journalist Costas Christ, moderated by David E. Guggenheim. 

Now in its eleventh year, Double Exposure - produced by the investigative news organization 100Reporters - celebrates groundbreaking films rooted in investigative storytelling. More than a showcase, DX connects audiences with urgent, truth-seeking work that bridges journalism, art, and policy change at a time when defending verifiable truth has never been more critical.

In addition to the the screening, Joffe will also take part in the festival’s symposium panel “Against the Current: Breaking Through the Dominant Narrative,” a conversation on the creative and ethical challenges of confronting entrenched stories and the personal and professional risks of exposing suppressed realities.

Centrepiece Film at Double Exposure
Washington DC, USA

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November 12th

The Mountain Film Festival has been running in Graz, Austria since 1986. Trade Secret will screen as part of its “Nature and Environment” category and will be the film’s Austrian Premiere. Screening on November 12th at 5.30pm.

Austrian Premiere at Mountain Film Festival
Graz, Australia

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Global Partners
One of the few @tradesecretfilm tote bags we had made and handed out at our screenings in the Hamptons and LA. It simply sums up what most people have felt upon learning that polar bears (and many other vulnerable species) still face the threat of in
“A life-changing film” - Dr. Sylvia Earle Join us for one night only screening of ‘Trade Secret’ @tradesecretfilm as the OPENING FILM of the Wildscreen Industry Summit. Screening followed with live Q+A with director Abraham J
Trade Secret @tradesecretfilm just screened at the 33rd Hamptons International Film Festival @hamptonsfilm. Following the screening, animal rights icon Zelda Penzel took the stage to speak on the importance of the film — and presented it with t
Trade Secret was in high demand at this year’s Climate Film Festival @climatefilmfestnyc in New York, filling two packed cinemas and opening with remarks from marine icon Dr. Sylvia Earle @dr.sylviaearle who described the film as “a life-
Trade Secret @tradesecretfilm has been selected as the Centre­piece film at the prestigious Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival @dx_fest in Washington, DC for Nov 1st 2pm. The screening will be followed by a live discussion with director
The day has arrived - Trade Secret makes its International Premiere tonight at the Climate Film Festival in New York.

We’re thrilled to share that the film sold out two large cinemas a full week before the screenings. Even more humbling - mari
Honoured that the Hamptons International Film Festival has decided to screen ‘Trade Secret’ to their audiences. It begins on Oct 5th.
Thrilled to announce Trade Secret will have its Australian Premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival – Australia’s premier celebration of screen culture – on the 16th of October, followed by a live Q&A with director Abraham Joffe.


  • “Trade Secret avoids sensationalism in favour of clear-eyed, forensic storytelling. Calm and quietly damning, it compels us to ask whether environmental protection has become just another market strategy. “

    Adelaide Film Festival

  • This is more than a film - it’s a wake-up call. Gripping, shocking, heartbreaking, and impossible to ignore. The revelations are staggering and demand global attention. You'll walk away shaken, questioning everything - and wanting everyone you know to watch it. This could be the spark for real change.

    Rachael Scott, Producer Director Frozen Planet 2, Our Oceans

  • It is a superbly crafted work - powerful, urgent, and deeply moving. The storytelling is razor-sharp, the cinematography both beautiful and harrowing, and its message could not be more relevant. It sheds light on a matter of global importance, and it does so with both journalistic integrity and cinematic finesse.

    Wolfgang Knöpfler, Producer ‘The Ivory Game, and ‘Sea of Shadows’.

  • If 'Blackfish' had such impact for the orca, then 'Trade Secret' is set to become an iconic film and a wake-up call about the dirty secrets in the wildlife trade.

    Pete Matthews IMDB

  • “Trade Secret, complete with a mid-film twist that Hollywood script writers would die for, forces a reckoning: if we don’t confront the corruption behind legalised wildlife trade today, what will be left to protect tomorrow?”

    NowThen Magazine

  • "A life changing film. This film is not just about polar bears. It's a film that speaks to where we are early in the 21st century and should give us all reason to think: how did we get here from our distant past, to where our relationship with nature is today?

    Dr. Sylvia Earle

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Help bring Trade Secret to global audiences