First Trailer for Heartbreaking 'Sentient' Doc About Testing on Animals

"We're not doing science anymore. We're practicing an ideology." Madman Films has revealed their official trailer for a documentary film titled Sentient, made by Australian journalist Tony Jones as his first film. This premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and next plays at the Melbourne Film Festival in Australia. It explores the moral, emotional and clinical questions – as well as answers – around why we still test on animals, and what it will take us to stop. Jones was granted unprecedented access to one of the largest animal laboratories in the U.S., the University of Washington in Seattle, revealing the scale of animal testing & the human cost behind it. Amid this, the story of Dr. Lisa Jones Engel also unfolds: a decorated primatologist who, after decades working with chimps and monkeys, realized the profound harm of her life’s work. Sentient exposes the hidden realities of animal testing and is a deeply human and complex journey that forces us to question: what cost is too high for scientific progress? Obviously a tough watch for animal lovers, though I am glad they made this doc to shed light on what's really happening to lab animals. // Continue Reading ›