Santina Polky-Link

Producer | Advocate | Nonprofit Builder

Santina Polky-Link didn’t come to film through film. Her background is nonprofit management and development, and today she leads campaigns and development at Species Unite, a nonprofit media organization fighting to end our dependence on animal agriculture and exploitation. She holds a Master of Science in Public Policy from King’s College London, and her two stated passions are animal advocacy and politics.

She lives in New Orleans with her husband Bruno, a fellow vegan and animal advocate, their daughter Delfina, their dog Barão, and their cat Mimi. The household theme is consistent.

The film

30,000 Monkeys in Our Backyard is Species Unite’s first documentary. In December 2023, residents of Bainbridge, a small Southern town of just 14,000, were blindsided by a plan approved behind closed doors: a massive breeding facility that would house 30,000 monkeys to be sold for laboratory experiments. The 25-minute film follows what happened next — farmers, teachers, lawyers, and scientists uniting to challenge Safer Human Medicine, a company with a troubling history — through first-hand accounts, expert insights, and the legal battles still underway.

It premiered in Bainbridge itself, then in New York City, and it’s now streaming free on Species Unite’s website

For Santina, producing it was her first experience producing a film, grown out of years of advocacy work rather than out of a film career.

What’s next

Species Unite is already working on its second documentary, and this one is a first for the organization too: A Case for Freedom is their first feature-length film, with philanthropist and activist Philip Wollen signed on as executive producer.

A first-time producer with a feature on the horizon. We’ll be watching.