'Kangaroo: A Love Hate Story' Director Mike McIntyre Says He's Gotten Death Threats Over Documentary

Ted Soqui

Australian director Mick McIntyre says he has received death threats over his documentary “Kangaroo: A Love Hate Story” — but that the threats are all part of creating change.

The Australian entry for the Best Documentary feature for the 2019 Academy Awards delves deep into the dark and disturbing slaughter of Australia’s national icon, the kangaroo. Following a screening of the documentary, nearly five years in the making, McIntyre and actor and activist Martin Dingle Wall sat down with TheWrap CEO and founder Sharon Waxman to discuss the difficulties of creating the film.

“We were surprised there’s never been a film about this icon before,” McIntyre said at The Landmark Theater in Los Angeles. “This is a barbaric, cruel practice that’s going on in Australia. … It’s an uncomfortable issue, that’s why there are uncomfortable parts in the film.”

Between majestic shots of the animals hopping across red Australian plains are shocking and disturbing scenes of mass slaughter. McIntyre said the scenes were critical to expose the harsh realities of the kangaroo-meat industry.

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As native Australians, McIntyre and Dingle Wall said they both grew up knowing anti-kangaroo sentiments were deeply engrained in the country’s culture. Also at issue were health concerns around eating kangaroo.

Extreme perspectives towards the animals and secrecy shrouding the meat industry made it hard for McIntyre to find interview subjects, he said.

The film, co-directed by Kate McIntyre Clere, primarily focuses on the ethical and scientific issues that come with the killing and selling of the animal and its by-products, McIntyre said. The film includes kangaroo lovers, academics and government officials.

“I wanted to make sure we covered every angle of the film,” McIntyre said.

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McIntyre told TheWrap that the government has scrutinized and criticized his work. But he feels a duty as a documentary filmmaker to enlighten the public.

“I live in the country and I have to deal with the abuse that we’re getting and the death threats we’re getting, but that seems to come with trying to create something different and creating change,” he said.

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Eight nonfiction filmmakers pose for the Race Begins issue of TheWrap Oscar Magazine.
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(Photographed by Shayan Asgharnia for TheWrap) "We have used the phrase 'friendship at first sight,' and that's really what happened. We met and said, 'We have to do something together. What could we do? It should be images and sound, like cinema." --Varda
Colin Hanks, "Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis"

(Photographed by Samantha Annis for TheWrap) "Initially, I resisted the idea. I don't necessarily like to stick a camera in my friends' faces after the toughest time in their lives, a terrorist attack on the other side of the world. But we realized there was an opportunity to document this and help everybody move on."
Ceyda Torun, "Kedi"

(Photographed by Corina Marie for TheWrap) "We went to Istanbul to do a straightforward nature documentary by filming cats and taking to people. But we realized that what people had to say about cats was profound and poetic, and that's the fastest way to strike up intimate conversations with strangers."
Jim Carrey, "Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond-Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton" (Directed by Chris Smith)

(Photographed by Corina Marie for TheWrap) "It's behind the scenes like has never been seen behind the scenes. And also, the character being played [in "Man in the Moon"] took over the movie and played it from the apparent grave. We all had the experience of Andy [Kaufman] being back."
John Ridley, "Let it Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992"

(Photographed by Matt Sayles for TheWrap) "Los Angeles is not Ferguson, not Baltimore. These events deserve singular examination. My desire is to use complicated storytelling to upend the audience expectations, so they walk away and think, 'What do I feel about what I thought I knew?"
Brett Morgen, "Jane"

(Photographed by Megan Mack for TheWrap) "I think that Jane Goodall is a story for our time, and yet one that transcends our time. It's not just the story of a scientist, but the story of a woman having to overcome the structural opposition of her time to fulfill and achieve her dreams."
Evgeny Afineefsky, "Cries from Syria"

(Photographed by Jana Cruder for TheWrap) "Syrian people were bringing me footage because they knew I had a voice and could tell their story to the world. They're fighting for freedom of speech, fighting for democracy, for all these human rights that we've never had."
Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, "One of Us"

(Photographed by Corina Marie for TheWrap) "We followed the journey of a few Hassidic Jews who were exploring the world outside their very cloistered, insular community -- and what's interesting is that there's a tenderness and homesickness for what they are leaving behind, because it cannot be replaced by secular American life." -- Grady