Terry Kennedy is a legend. A former associate of the Hell’s Angels, he sailed into the Sea of Cortez in the 1980s on a boat named Erotica. But while Terry’s friends have great memories of partying with him at sea, his legacy goes beyond mere popularity. His time on the water transformed Terry, who devoted his life to the conservation of manta rays after bonding with a giant manta he named “Willy Wow.” Over 19 years off the coast of San Benedicto Island, Terry and Willy Wow developed an extraordinary relationship that changed our understanding of mantas forever.

Now in his eighties, Terry goes on the adventure of a lifetime in The Last Dive, setting sail with his friends and a documentary crew in hopes of fulfilling his “dying wish” to swim with Willy Wow one more time. Director Cody Sheehy takes viewers along on their journey, using Terry’s story as a window into the developing science behind manta rays’ extraordinary intelligence, as well as the urgent need to protect these “gentle giants” and their stunning natural habitat. —Cara Cusumano|Tribeca Film Festival.

Watch the trailer here: "Meeting Willy" Scene from THE LAST DIVE documentary

Read the review from OUTSIDE Magazine: ‘The Last Dive’ Follows a Diver’s 20-Year-Long Friendship With a Giant Manta Ray ‘The Last Dive’ Doc Tells the Incredible Story of a Diver's Friendship With a Giant Manta Ray

Listen to Tom Needham interview director Cody Sheehy: THE LAST DIVE: A Diver’s Friendship with a Giant Manta Ray by SOUNDS OF FILM with Tom Needham

Contact the host of PJDS Fall25 - The Last Dive