WILD Films Watchlist
Watch films from the 9th annual New York WILD Film Festival – available online. These curated WILD watchlists feature selected films from the 2023 festival!
Full list of previous festival films found here
Walking Two Worlds
Director: Maia Wikler
USA, 2022
29 mins
Finalist, 2023
19 year-old Quannah Chasinghorse, and her mother, Jody Potts-Joseph, take a stand to defend their sacred homelands and way of life while breaking barriers in Indigenous representation.
Available on Vimeo
Sheri
Director: James “Q” Martin
USA, 2022
29 mins
Finalist, 2023
Sheri showcases the beautiful story of how one woman and her family revolutionized the outdoor gear industry.
Available on Alpacka Raft
Humanity Has Not Yet Failed (Featuring Greta Thunberg)
Directors: Norma V. Toraya and Jared P. Scott
USA & Germany, 2021
8 mins
Finalist, 2023
In this refreshing and fun Emmy®-WINNING animated-short, climate activist Greta Thunberg juxtaposes the absurdity of political inaction with the straightforward high-stakes of the climate emergency. Playful and poignant, the film pits a ludicrous status quo against the clear-eyed activism necessary to shift the balance of power and create a sustainable, just and equitable world.
Available on NYT Opinion
Wild Waters
Director: David Arnaud
France, 2022
86 mins
Best Adventure Film, 2023
Wild Waters follows Nouria Newman as she prepares to become the first female to run a 100ft waterfall. She is one of the greatest kayakers of all time – male or female. Running some of the world’s hardest whitewater isn’t Nouria’s biggest life challenge however, as she has to overcome expectations placed on her as an athlete and as a woman on her lifelong path to greatness.
Available on Red Bull TV
Path of the Panther
Director: Eric Bendick
USA, 2022
89 mins
Best Conservation Film, 2023
Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, Nat Geo photographer Carlton Ward Jr. and a coalition of biologists, ranchers, conservationists, and indigenous peoples find themselves on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse.
The Elephant and the Termite
Directors: Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble
UK, 2021
51 mins
Best Cinematography, 2023
Together, elephants and termites create waterholes. This is the remarkable story of the relationship between Africa’s largest and smallest and the unique waterhole community they support. It is the story of a seasonal African waterhole in southern Kenya as never seen before – from the perspective of a cast of animal characters that live at elephant toe-nail height. It is a story of intrigue, dependency and their struggle to survive and raise families before their world turns to dust.
Available on PBS Nature
Odrina the Lynx
Director: Miguel Antón
Spain, 2021
5 mins
Student Finalist, 2023
After generations of absence, a silent shadow has returned to the forests of central Spain – one that the magpies are learning to fear again: the Iberian lynx.
Available on YouTube
My Neighbour Is a Bear
Director: Mattia Cialoni
UK, 2021
16 mins
Student Finalist, 2023
A rare Marsican bear family wanders down from the Italian Apennines to the charming village of Villalago, in search of food in the local orchards. For most people this would be a cause for concern, but for the residents of Villalago it is a rather different situation. The film tells the story of the determination of one woman to understand these bears and gives an important lesson of the fragility of our connection with nature.
Available on Director’s Website
Haulout
Directors: Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
UK, 2022
25 mins
Best in Festival, 2023
On a remote coast of the Russian Arctic in a wind-battered hut, a lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering. But warming seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed. Nominated for Documentary Short at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Available on The New Yorker
The Territory
Director: Alex Pritz
Brazil, 2022
86 mins
Best Environmental Film, 2023
ADAPTATION: Coral Reefs of Vanuatu
Director: Alizé Carrère
Vanuatu, 2021
11 mins
Finalist, 2023
The South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu may be one of the world’s most beautiful diving destinations, but its coral reefs are also the backbone of the island’s environmental and economic health. Today they’re facing destruction from a silent predator that can decimate an entire reef in a matter of days. Discover how local communities are adapting to the threat and reviving coastal ecosystems in the process.
Available on PBS
Orphans of Fire
Director: Alexander Mejía-Johnson
Brazil & USA, 2022
11 mins
Finalist, 2023
A giant anteater named Tupã loses his mother to wildfires that ravage his home in Brazil. As one of the “Orphans of Fire” rescued and cared for by local conservationists, Tupã grows into an adult and must undergo a multi-stage journey of rehabilitation to return once again to the wild.
Available on IFAW’s channel
Beavers About Town
Directors: Yaz Ellis and Jack Mifflin
Austria, 2022
9 mins
Finalist, 2023
The city of Vienna is home to over 230 beavers, including one special beaver family who are the stars of this film. We follow them as they navigate the urban world they have made their home. From living in an unexpected ‘lodge,’ swimming past humans everyday and using empty boats as places to relax. You’ve never seen beavers like this before.
Available on Vimeo
The Power of Pollinators
Director: Neil Losin
USA, 2022
6 mins
Finalist, 2023
Join entomologist and insect evangelist Dr. Samuel Ramsey for a closer look at North America’s wild, native bees: their diversity, their beauty, and the critical roles they play in our ecosystems.
Available on PBS
O’o: The Last Voice of Kauai
Director: Hanah Cincotta
USA, 2022
4 mins
Student Finalist, 2023
“O’o: The Last Voice of Kauai” is an environmental film about human-caused extinction, featuring a bird known as the the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, which was once endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i.
Available on director’s website
The Sea Turtle Arribada
Director: Jordan Miller
Mexico, 2022
11 mins
Finalist, 2023
Witness an arribada – a mass nesting of sea turtles on an Oaxacan beach – that ocean conservation group WILDCOAST protects, and see how a small group of dedicated people have a massive impact on an endangered species survival.
Available on WILDCOAST’s channel
Wild Waters
Director: David Arnaud
France, 2022
86 mins
Best Adventure Film, 2023
Wild Waters follows Nouria Newman as she prepares to become the first female to run a 100ft waterfall. She is one of the greatest kayakers of all time – male or female. Running some of the world’s hardest whitewater isn’t Nouria’s biggest life challenge however, as she has to overcome expectations placed on her as an athlete and as a woman on her lifelong path to greatness.
Available on Red Bull TV
Reel Rock: Cuddle
Directors: Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen
USA, 2022
34 mins
Finalist, 2023
The tireless duo Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold face several setbacks when ascending 17 peaks in the Colorado mountains. Tommy’s childhood friend Adam Stack comes to the rescue in an epic adventure.
Available on Red Bull TV
Ismael – With the Wind
Director: Liam Saint-Pierre
Tanzania, 2021
4 mins
Finalist, 2023
Ismael, a local kitesurfer from Zanzibar who overcame a humble background sets up the first kitesurf school for locals.
Available on director’s website
Fuel
Director: Iz La Motte
USA, 2021
6 mins
Finalist, 2023
Madison Rose Ostergren has been encouraged to fit into certain molds her entire life. Now, as she comes to the stage of professional big mountain skiing, she is determined to show up as her true, authentic self and learn how to embrace her own personality in a world that often convinces individuals to fit into certain boxes.
Available on director’s website