The Film: The Rewilders
The Rewilders
Around the globe, fierce and passionate individuals are taking audacious measures to save a planet in crisis. Since 1970, the planet has lost 60% of its biodiversity. The most dire consequences are accelerated global warming and a potential mass extinction event affecting millions of plant and animal species. But there is a solution gaining ground: rewilding the planet.
Rewilding applies to both aquatic and terrestrial environments, an important point to emphasize in the run-up to BC and World Rivers Day — September 27th.
The Rewilders tells the tale of pioneering conservationists on three continents, working tirelessly as they galvanize the global movement of rewilding, one species and one landscape at a time.
Through all these stories, the real environmental heroes are the animals. These keystone species, restored to their habitats, create a cascade effect that results in greater ecosystem resilience. Leading scientists, including Yale’s Oswald Schmitz, contend that this enhanced resilience, simply put, equates to greater ability to sequester or store more carbon and ultimately reduce the earth’s atmospheric temperature.
Told through the lens of on-the-ground rewilders from across the planet, this intimate, visually spectacular documentary showcases the animals that help to keep our ecosystems thriving, and the trials and tribulations such work entails. The Rewilders is a call to action for humanity to change its wilderness paradigm.
samitqiic ʔiiḥmisʔas (Salmon Parks)
Two short films from Salmon Parks will screen prior to The Rewilders. The films highlight the extraordinary work of Mowachaht/Muchalaht and Nuchatlaht Ḥaẃiiḥ (hereditary leaders) to restore wild salmon by recovering and protecting key watersheds in Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island’s west coast. These films centre Indigenous-led conservation in action — protecting the ecosystems that Pacific salmon, and all life that depends on them, need to survive.
Panel Discussion
Following the screening, we’re hosting a panel discussion that includes:
– Marlene Rodgers – Filmmaker
– Mark Angelo – Producer & Conservationist
– Eric Angel – General Manager, Salmon Parks
– Roger Dunlop – Resource Manager, Nuchatlaht Tribe
– Moderator: Brynna Kagawa-Visentin – Campaigner, CPAWS-BC
