“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’
Awards + Honours
Opening Film at Wildscreen
Winner GOLDEN PANDA award for Best Production and the award for
Best Independent Film
Bristol, UK
Trade Secret has received a nomination for the International Green Film Award by the Cinema for Peace. Gala Awards 16th February in Berlin, Germany
Hamptons International
Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights Award Winner - presented by Zelda Penzel
Hamptons, USA
Audience Award Winner
Climate Film Festival New York
International Premiere opened by Dr. Sylvia Earle. Also winner of Visionary Award.
New York City, USA
Change Award Winner
Adelaide Film Festival, Australia
AFF describes the film as “a meticulously composed exposé…Trade Secret avoids sensationalism in favour of clear-eyed, forensic storytelling. Calm and quietly damning.”
World Premiere
Sheffield DocFest, UK
Trade Secret received its first press with a review from NowThen Magazine - describing it as: “riveting.. unflinching storytelling.”
Investigative Film Nominee
Jackson Wild, Wyoming
Abraham Joffe also took part in a panel titled “Investigative Journalism: Courage in the Search for Truth" moderated by Andreas Crostas.
Centrepiece Film at Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival Washington DC, USA
Professor David E. Guggenheim moderated a post screening discussion with Abraham Joffe, Iris Ho and Costas Christ.
FIPADOC
Human rights in Action Award Winner - Biarritz, France
Trade Secret received the Xposure Achievement Award in Film and Documentary at the Xposure International Film Awards 2026, selected from over 634 entries across 60+ countries
Trade Secret won the SIMA Awards 2026 Transparency Jury Prize, selected by an international jury from a global field spanning 43 countries. The award recognises films that demonstrate exceptional integrity, accountability in investigative storytelling.
Upcoming Screenings
Trade Secret will have its Australian East Coast Premiere at Sydney’s largest documentary festival - Antenna. The screening on the 8th of February at the Ritz in Randwick will be followed by a live Q+A by director Abraham Joffe moderated by Ray Martin AM. A second screening will follow at the Dendy in Randwick on the 13th of February.
ANTENNA DOC FESTIVAL
February 8th and 13th SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
WILD + SCENIC, USA
Feb 19th-23rd CALIFORNIA
Trade Secret will screen as part of the 2026 Wild & Scenic Film Festival, one of the world’s leading environmental film festivals, taking place February 19–23, 2026 in Nevada City and Grass Valley, California. Known for inspiring environmental activism through film, Wild & Scenic provides a powerful platform for Trade Secret, an investigative feature that challenges audiences to confront the hidden forces shaping wildlife conservation and what meaningful protection for our planet demands.
SEDONA FILM FESTIVAL
Trade Secret will screen at the Sedona International Film Festival on Sunday, February 22 at 10:00am at Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre, and Tuesday, February 24 at 4:00pm at Harkins Theatre 1. One of the longest-running and most respected independent film festivals in the United States, Sedona is known for its engaged audiences and strong support for films that explore social, environmental, and political issues.
February 22nd and 24th
OSLO, NORWAY
Trade Secret will have its Norwegian Premiere on Thursday 26th February 2026 in Central Olso at the SAGA KINO with a live conversation with Director Abraham Joffe.
February 26th 6:30 PM
Trade Secret will have its Svalbard Premiere at the Longyearbyen Kulturhus Cinema on Friday 27th February. Screening will follow with a live conversation with Director Abraham Joffe.
SOLD OUT!
LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD
February 27th 7:00 PM
TROMSØ, NORWAY
Trade Secret will have its Tromsø Premiere at the Aurora Kino on Saturday 28th February. Screening in collaboration with Tromsø based ENGO - Rissa Citizen Science.
February 28th 6:00 PM
LOS ANGELES, USA
Trade Secret will screen at the CREDO 23 Film Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 28. CREDO 23 is a filmmaker-first festival that takes a pretty clear position against AI, putting the emphasis back on human authorship and craft. It’s backed by a council of filmmakers and artists including Justine Bateman, Reed Morano, Matthew Weiner, Juliette Lewis, and Arianne Phillips - people who care deeply about how films are actually made - and by whom.
February 28th
SALT SPRING, CANADA
February 28th + 1st March
Making its Canadian Premiere at the Salt Spring Film Festival, Trade Secret will screen at 12:30 pm on Saturday, February 28 and Sunday, March 1, for the festival’s deeply engaged Salt Spring Island audiences, known for their progressive outlook and strong environmental focus.
BERGEN, NORWAY
Trade Secret will have its Bergen premiere on 2 March 2026, 18:00–20:30 at Litteraturhuset Bergen, hosted by the University of Bergen in collaboration with the Polar Network and Academia Europaea. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A featuring Adam Cruise and Ole J. Liodden, exploring the film’s investigation into the global commercial trade in polar bear skins and its implications for conservation and policy.
March 2nd
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