“So Sea World would be this guy’s equivalent to a strip club?” one commenter questioned underneath a short documentary about Malcolm Brenner, a man who had a fervent summer-long love affair with a dolphin named Dolly. And, yes, Malcolm and Dolly had ‘consensual’ sex.

It all started with a visit to Floridaland, a theme park-cum-roadside attraction between Sarasota and Venice. Floridaland was home to Dolly, a peppy dolphin that would perform tricks like jumping through flaming hoops for drive-thru audiences. When Malcolm set eyes on Dolly, he didn’t immediately see a potential fuck buddy. Rather, it seemed to be Dolly who was smitten. It was over time and many swims that their relationship blossomed. While it may have been a simple summer fling for the self-confessed zoophile (i.e. someone who is sexually attracted to animals), it remains as one of Malcolm’s most meaningful and emotional relationships. He decided to put down his experience into a book called Wet Goddess.

But how does a dolphin consent? Isn’t this kind of thing illegal? How does one ‘fuck’ a dolphin? These and other questions, which, trust me, are completely natural, are answered in Dolphin Lover, a short documentary by directors Joey Daoud and Kareem Tabsch. It’s a fascinating watch, and, despite the online vitriol, the pair have been surprised by the world’s reaction to a man’s toe-dip into marine lovemaking.

When reading the book the film is based on, Wet Goddess, what stood out to you as the most shocking?

Joey Daoud: Unsurprisingly, the sex scenes were definitely the most shocking and graphic, for example: ‘For an endless moment there was only one creature in that pen, half dolphin, half human, sharing the astonishing sensation of my hot semen displacing cool seawater in your cunt, leaving us both quivering and shapeless.’

How did you first come across Malcolm’s story?

Kareem Tabsch: I was in San Francisco and picked up the alt-weekly. I came across the headline ‘Man Has Sex With Dolphin, Writes Novel’. That was enough to derail anything else I had planned for the day as I read the piece and took to the internet to hunt Malcolm down.

Why did you want to turn it into a documentary?

Kareem Tabsch: I think it was Malcolm’s willingness to be so open about this, but also this is a community most of us (us included) not only don’t know much about, but don’t think about. As shocking and unusual as the story itself is, I was more taken aback by his willingness to be open about it, knowing full well there had to be major repercussions. Also, Malcolm didn’t just characterise this as a sexual relationship, but rather one of the most meaningful emotional relationships he had.

“There are moments that are certainly funny, and we knew that the best way to make an audience receptive to what could be a very difficult story to hear would be to break up the intensity of the story with moments of levity” – Kareem Tabsch

How did he initially respond to the idea?

Kareem Tabsch: I think Malcolm was hesitant at first, given how so many people have used this as an opportunity to mock him, but we got to know each other via several phone chats and a visit and I think he was much more receptive after he got to know us.

How did you manage to tell the story respectfully?

Kareem Tabsch: We were uninterested in being cruel or mocking. That’s not our style, nor would it best serve in telling this story. We did want to inject some humour as there are moments that are certainly funny, and we knew that the best way to make an audience receptive to what could be a very difficult story to hear would be to break up the intensity of the story with moments of levity. We respect Malcolm’s honesty, so it was easy to ensure that respect carried to the screen.

Why did you include the animation of how Malcolm and the dolphin have sex?

Kareem Tabsch: This allowed us to both articulate the ‘how’ question audiences were asking, which Malcolm explained in the most tasteful way, while also injecting some light-heartedness in one of the parts of the film that is most difficult for audiences to sit through.

How has the response been to the film?

Joey Daoud: It’s been interesting hearing the different reactions because it’s come in two phases. The first was when the film premiered at Slamdance last year and made the festival circuit. Everyone who saw the film really enjoyed it and came away with a better understanding and acceptance of Malcolm’s encounter with Dolly. At the same time, the premise of the story (man has sex with dolphin) was making the rounds online and people were responding with a knee-jerk reaction without knowing the full story. There was a petition to charge Malcolm. We even got some hate mail with a very descriptive scenario on how all three of us should be killed. (It involved a whale.)

While the reaction wasn’t too surprising, I knew if a good number of the commenters saw the film, they might have a change of mind. That turned out to be true since we released the film for free on YouTube last week. The internet generally gets a bad rep as a place where anonymous people say the most atrocious things. There’s been a fair share of those comments, but there’s been a surprising number of people coming to Malcolm’s defence and understanding that people are programmed differently.

Did any comment in particular surprise you?

Joey Daoud: As a documentary filmmaker, my favourites are the ones that have a change of mind because of the film. ‘I went from repulsion to acceptance while watching this,’ was my favourite comment.