The New York WILD Film Festival on January 28-31 is the first annual documentary film festival in New York to showcase a spectrum of topics, from exploration and adventure to wildlife and the environment, bringing all things wild to the most urban city in the world.
NY WILD celebrates the filmmakers who, through the power of their images and storytelling, promote awareness, educate and inspire interest in exploring and protecting the natural world around us.
The spirit of exploration and adventure continues to capture people’s imagination. More than ever people are fascinated with all things connected to the planet and aware of the urgency to save it. The New York WILD Film Festival, through powerful, exhilarating films and conversations presents an extraordinary opportunity to exchange ideas, affect vital change and celebrate the wild.
Films include:
Ain’t No Fish: This is a short stop motion animated film featuring singing seals in the Arctic. The music is performed by Hoagy Carmichael. There is an environmental message about the protection of our oceans.
Degrees North: Degrees North mixes hair-raising action footage of leading freeriders with a story of adventure and discovery. World-renowned freeriders Xavier De Le Rue, Samuel Anthamatten and Ralph Backstrom progress the sport of freeriding through the use new technology to scope remote areas in Alaska and Svalbard in order to show ski and snowboard action in a way never seen before.
Denali: Denali is the story of the relationship between photographer Ben Moon and his beloved dog, Denali. This short film is about friendship, loss and the beautiful fight for life. A true collaboration between director Ben Knight, producer Ben Moon and cinematographer Skip Armstrong, Denali celebrates the human-dog bond and illuminates the incredible resilience we can conjure up with the help of friends.
Eclipse: The odds are low, the risks are high – photographer Reuben Krabbe is determined to capture a photo of a skier in front of the 2015 solar eclipse in Svalbard. But the weather’s bad, the pressure is massive, and the skiers just want to ski.
Jago: The film follows Rohani – an 80 year-old hunter who hobbles around on land telling his extraordinary life story as he prepares for what could be his last hunting trip.
Joe: Joe Riis has the job that every child in the world dreams of: He is a celebrated National Geographic wildlife photographer. He spends his life embarking on adventures to the wildest places on Earth, often for months on end, to observe and photograph animals for National Geographic Magazine. He seemingly has the picture perfect life. Or does he? This film tells a more personal story of an oft idolized character to remind that even those who have achieved it all still face many of the struggles that everyone else does. It also celebrates how a man’s love for the wilderness has helped to further curiosity, respect and protection for the natural world around us.
Juma of Itanda: Growing up in tandem with the budding rafting industry along the banks of the Nile River in Uganda, Juma Kalikwani’s life has been shaped by the rapids in more ways than one. However, with imminent dam projects threatening to turn the legendary and volatile rapids of the Nile into a docile lake, Juma’s future in Uganda is uncertain.
Soul of the Elephant: Ironically, every dead elephant with its ivory intact is a reason to celebrate. It means an elephant died of natural causes, not bullets, snares or poison, and a soul was allowed to be celebrated and mourned by its herd. Award-winning filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert start with the remains of two bull elephants and through a series of key flashbacks, look at the lives they would have led, the dramas they may have seen, their great migrations for water with their families, and their encounters with lions and hyenas. This film, shot over two years, is an intimate look at elephants through the lens of perhaps the greatest storytellers of natural history.