From The Writer Of Academy Award Winning Films The Cove And Icarus, The Evening Blends Film, Ceremony And Conversation Honoring Healing And Community
SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The documentary "The Last Dive," will take center stage at its San Diego premiere on Wednesday, August 19 at 7 p.m., at the historic Balboa Theatre, located at 868 Fourth Avenue in downtown San Diego.
The evening promises an experience unlike any film premiere San Diego has seen–one of the city's largest community gatherings of its kind this year, uniting leading voices from organizations including NRDC, WILDCOAST, Sierra Club San Diego Chapter, WarFighter Scuba and others that have championed the region's ocean, veteran and wellness communities for decades.
**Event Details**
The night opens with a red carpet, followed by a guided healing experience with San Diego-based, world-renowned mind-body expert Dr. Brian Alman. The film will then premiere, followed by a post-screening panel Q&A, a combination of ceremony, conversation and healing rarely brought together for a single film event. The event will also include a communal dance party led by Daybreaker.
"The Last Dive," follows Terry Kennedy, a legendary figure in Baja California, Mexico and an American veteran who has spent decades living on and in the water. Once a man burdened by a troubled past, Terry's life was transformed by an unlikely friendship with Willy, a 22-foot oceanic manta ray. For nearly two decades, Willy would slap his wings against the hull of Terry's sailboat to signal their next dive, and together they explored the ocean's depths, a bond that turned Terry into an unexpected conservationist. Now in his 80s, Terry embarks on one final journey to a remote island in hopes of reuniting with his old friend, searching for peace, closure and a chance to say goodbye.
The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Cody Sheehy and produced by Mark Monroe, the writer behind the Academy Award-winning documentaries "The Cove," and "Icarus.” "The Last Dive," has 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, across more than 50 sold-out festival screenings.
"San Diego felt like the right place to bring this film," said director Cody Sheehy. "It is a military town, a diving town, and a town full of people who understand what it means to search for healing, whether that search runs through faith, through the water, or through a community that shows up for you. Terry's story touches all of that. This screening is a chance for those different worlds to sit in the same room and share it together."
Following the screening, director Cody Sheehy will join Terry Kennedy for a post-screening panel discussion of the film and the ocean conservation work it depicts.
The panel includes:
● Cody Sheehy, Director
● Terry Kennedy, Film Subject
● Joel Reynolds, NRDC
● Serge Dedina, PhD, WILDCOAST
● Nick Powers, SSI and WarFighter Scuba
● Mark West, Sierra Club San Diego Chapter
● Jane Vinesky, Manta Researcher
The San Diego premiere is presented with 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.
Tickets for the August 19 premiere can be purchased at https://www.sandiegotheatres.org/events/detail/the-last-dive-2026 . Doors open at 6 p.m. with the event starting at 7 p.m.
**About "The Last Dive"**
“The Last Dive,” is directed by Cody Sheehy and produced by Mark Monroe, Randy Gebhardt and Christopher Gebhardt. The documentary follows Terry Kennedy's two-decade friendship with an oceanic manta ray named Willy off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, and his final journey back to the island where they met. The film has screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide and has partnered with conservation and media organizations including The Guardian, Outside Magazine, Patagonia, NRDC, WCS, Surfrider Foundation, Manta Trust, the United Nations, and AARP.
For more information visit www.thelastdivefilm.com.
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