This week marks the arrival of Earth Month, and with it the inaugural Reel Wild New York Film Festival. Running April 4-5 at the AMC Lincoln Square 13, the festival offers a cornucopia of natural history programming brought to you by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the organization that welcomes millions of New Yorkers each year to the Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and Prospect Park Zoo.
Since our founding as the New York Zoological Society in 1895, we have understood the power of the moving image. Our archives capture explorations by early conservationists in settings that range from the tropics of Latin America to the coastal waters of North America. A writer of the original 1933 “King Kong” worked for WCS and accompanied an early expedition.
A great thing about film for conservation education is that it meets people where they are. Our programming provides an incredible experience where they have an opportunity not only to see extraordinary films, but also to meet amazing directors, scientists, and fellow nature and film enthusiasts.
The theme of the festival is: “Lights, Camera, Take Action!” We want to create a new paradigm for conservation that enthralls and educates audiences, immerses them in wild places they may not ever have an opportunity to visit for themselves, and encourages them to take action for the protection of wildlife, our planet, and the people who live in — and depend upon — nature for livelihoods.
Most people think of New York as the capital for finance, media, and culture, but it also boasts one of the largest and most active constituencies for conservation. Our new festival benefits from these interconnected sectors with a stake in the protection of our planet. WCS itself helped save the American bison at the turn of the 20th century — sending dozens of bison from the Bronx Zoo west to help rebuild a population that had been hunted to the edge of extinction.
City dwellers in an urban landscape bursting with skyscrapers, rushing traffic, and the cacophony of planes, helicopters and sirens, perhaps especially appreciate the opportunity to duck into a movie theater and be transported to the wilds of faraway oceans and continents. Or be reminded of how lucky we are to have five zoological parks in our city, along with thousands of acres of green space and marine coastline just a subway ride away,
This year’s festival demonstrates neatly the power of film to lift up and inspire us. It includes the 2025 Oscar-nominated “The Last Ranger,” in which a young girl is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by a wildlife ranger when they are ambushed by poachers. It includes 2023 Oscar nominee “Haulout,” which dramatically captures the impact of climate change on walrus habitat.
Other films in the lineup explore the lives of lion cubs struggling to survive on the shores of Namibia (“Lions of the Skeleton Coast”); the epic journey of rare sea turtles along an Indian oceanfront (“Turtle Walkers”); the Bronx Zoo’s work with the Osage Nation to reintroduce bison to their native habitat on tribal lands (PBS Nature’s “Wild Hope: Thunder and Fire”); and a family program that includes Disneynature’s “Sea Lions of the Galapagos,” and several episodes of the award-winning nature series “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” with hosts Rae Wynn-Grant and Peter Gros in attendance.
What we hope to achieve is a new way for conservation organizations like WCS to help educate the public and at the same time inspire them to become further engaged as changemakers through the curation of a carefully chosen set of outstanding films. Some festivalgoers may be moved to contribute to the protection of a favorite species or landscape. Others might consider visiting one of our nation’s fantastic national or New York City parks. And others may support our work by visiting one of our zoos or the aquarium.
Importantly, the festival will bring together many different people from across the region united in a love of the natural world and all that resides there. It’s going to be exciting because each one of these events is going to help tell a little bit of a different story, reminding us of what unites us, and — hopefully — create new linkages and new ideas on how we can promote conservation and help save our planet. And what better way to begin to celebrate Earth Month?
Calvelli is executive vice president for public affairs at WCS and co-founder of the Reel Wild New York Film Festival.
