The Last Dive premieres in San Diego with film, healing and conservation event

The documentary The Last Dive will premiere Aug. 19 at San Diego’s Balboa Theatre with a screening, healing session, panel discussion and community dance party. The event brings together ocean, veteran and wellness groups around a film about Terry Kennedy’s friendship with a manta ray and his final journey back to Baja California.

Why it matters: - The San Diego premiere is designed as more than a film screening. It blends cinema, wellness and community organizing around ocean conservation and veteran healing. - The event brings together groups tied to the region’s ocean, veteran and wellness communities, including NRDC, WILDCOAST, Sierra Club San Diego Chapter and WarFighter Scuba. - The film’s story centers on conservation, grief and closure, which gives the premiere broader local relevance than a standard movie launch.

What happened: - The documentary The Last Dive will premiere Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. at the historic Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Avenue, in downtown San Diego. - The evening will open with a red carpet, then move into a guided healing experience led by San Diego-based mind-body expert Dr. Brian Alman. - The screening will be followed by a post-screening panel Q&A and a community dance party led by Daybreaker. - Director Cody Sheehy will join film subject Terry Kennedy for the discussion after the screening. - Tickets are available at the event page. - Doors open at 6 p.m.

The details: - The Last Dive follows Terry Kennedy, a veteran and longtime Baja California figure whose life changed through a friendship with Willy, a 22-foot oceanic manta ray. - Willy would slap its wings against the hull of Kennedy’s sailboat to signal their next dive, and the two spent nearly two decades exploring the ocean together. - Kennedy, now in his 80s, returns to a remote island for one final journey in hopes of reconnecting with Willy and finding peace and closure. - The film is directed by Cody Sheehy and produced by Mark Monroe, known for The Cove and Icarus. - The documentary won Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Montreal International and Boise film festivals, and three audience awards. - The film has played more than 50 sold-out festival screenings. - The San Diego premiere has support from Patagonia, SSI, NRDC, Daybreaker, Ocean Enterprises Worldwide Dive Team, Rhumbline Media, Mares, WILDCOAST Costasalvaje, Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, SeaTrees, Area 23A, RandomGood and WarFighter Scuba.

Between the lines: - The premiere is being positioned as a convening point for audiences that do not always overlap: divers, veterans, conservation advocates and wellness communities. - The format suggests the organizers want the event to land as a shared experience, not just a documentary release. - The film’s awards and festival run give the San Diego premiere added visibility and a built-in audience interest.

What's next: - The San Diego screening will be followed by the panel discussion on the film and the conservation work it highlights. - The film’s wider outreach continues through conservation and media partnerships that include The Guardian, Outside Magazine, Patagonia, NRDC, WCS, Surfrider Foundation, Manta Trust, the United Nations and AARP. - More information is available at the film’s website.