New York, March 3, 2025 – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is launching REEL WILD™️, a 2-day film festival during Earth Month, including Oscar-nominated films, and Emmy-Award winning programs,  that bring the wonders of wildlife and nature to the big screen.  

Through powerful cinematic storytelling, REEL WILD™️ will engage audiences in the beauty and urgency of protecting our planet, connecting audiences with the filmmakers, scientists, and explorers. There will be Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and special events for children.

This year’s Oscar-nominated film, The Last Ranger will be shown on Saturday, April 5, 6PM; and Haulout, nominated in 2024, will be shown on Friday, April 4, 6PM. 

Other celebrated films include Lions of the Skeleton Coast, Saturday, April 5, 7PM; and Turtle Walker on Friday, April 4, 7PM. See full schedule with credits HERE.

REEL WILD™️ is a platform for showcasing films and for sparking action for wildlife. Through each of the 14 films, audience interaction and community partnership, REEL WILD™️ seeks to inspire viewers to become active participants in the conservation of wildlife and the environment.  

The festival will take place in one location at the AMC Lincoln Square 13,1998 Broadway, NYC. Each film is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and Wildlife Conservation Society scientists and a cocktail reception. 

Tickets for the event, April 4 and 5, can be purchased at reelwild.org. Evening tickets include a Filmmaker Q&A and cocktail reception. Family Day features four films, interactive activities with the co-hosts of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, snacks, crafts and a take-home goodie bag for each child. Wild Kingdom’s co-hosts, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant and Peter Gros, will lead interactive discussions. 

Said John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President of Public Affairs: “WCS has long brought the best in natural history programming to public audiences, through documentaries, feature films and short form productions. Now, we are forging a new path forward with REEL WILD™️, a natural evolution in our legacy of inspiring millions to care about nature through film and in our zoos and aquarium in New York City. Our aim is to engage new audiences to care about conserving our planet through the power of film.”

Said Christine Osekoski, WCS Executive Director of  Public Affairs & Partnerships: “We’ve partnered with New York WILD founder, Nancy Rosenthal, and a talented Advisory Board, including executive producer, Patrick Michaels and filmmaker and founder of Wondros, Jesse Dylan, to raise awareness and the level of professional expertise in the nature-documentary film world. WCS is privileged to have the support of a highly skilled team of marketing and advertising professionals from Horizon Media, Barbarian, Genuine Overkill, Naked City Films, and National CineMedia.

"We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsors, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Lotte New York Palace, and Coca Cola whose invaluable support has played a critical role in the success of REEL WILD™️.  Their commitment has helped bring REEL WILD™️ to life in its inaugural season.” 

The Schedule for Inaugural REEL WILD™️
Full schedule with credits HERE.

FRIDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4
AMC Lincoln Square13, 1998 Broadway, 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Haulout
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. 
Directed and produced by Evgenia Arbugaeva & Maxim Arbugaev

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Turtle Walker
In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s spectacular coastlines, living alongside rare sea turtles to unravel the mysteries that surround them – and set out to save the enigmatic sea creatures from extinction.
Directed by Taira Malaney 
Produced by Emaho Films, Tiger Baby and Ceres in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios

9:00 PM - 10:00 PM 
Reception with the filmmakers

SATURDAY DAYTIME, APRIL 5 
10 AM - 3:00 PM Family Day with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild 

10:00 AM: Into the Bear’s Den
11:00 AM: Safe Passage for Whales 
1:00 PM: Hidden World of Ocelots
2:00 PM: World Without Sharks

SATURDAY DAYTIME, APRIL 5 
12:30 PM - 3:30 PM Short Film Showcase 

Batsies (15m)
Bats play a large, unseen role in Texas’s agricultural economy & food systems, both as pollinators and as free, natural pest control. Batsies follows passionate Texas State University wildlife biologists as they work against the clock to find a way to save the bats, while breaking barriers of their own.
Directed by Liz Unger
Produced Katy Baldock, Executive Producer: Ben Masters Fin and Fur Films for H-E-B

Hellbent (19m)
In a small rural town in Pennsylvania, the refuge of a rare salamander and the only source of clean drinking water for 700 people is threatened by the installation of an injection well, prompting community members to band together for an epic fight for the rights of their people and nature.
Co-directed by Justin Grubb and Annie Roth
Produced by Juston Grubb, Matt Podolsky and Jim Lesperance 

Wild Hope: Thunder and Fire (19m)
WILD HOPE is a series of short films on PBS Nature that highlights the intrepid changemakers who are restoring our wild places and sparking new hope for the future of our planet. In this episode, the Bronx Zoo and the Osage Nation work together to reintroduce bison to their native habitat on tribal lands.
Directed by Katie Schuler
Produced by Geoff Luck and Sarah Arnoff, Red Rock Films for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios 

Coexistence (28m)
In the world's most sensitive ecosystems, the effects of climate change and habitat loss are being felt most drastically. To the people living there, coexistence is not just an idea, but a necessary way of life.
Co-directed by Eliot Logan-Hines and Brian Nunes
Produced by Wildlife Conservation Society Sustainable Markets Program

The Bird in My Backyard (19m)
In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behaviour. The Bird in My Backyard follows citizen scientist, Eric Pittman, as he documents the journeys of two female Anna’s hummingbirds as they attempt to raise their young in his urban garden. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, the wonders it can reveal and the doors it can open if we just lean in a bit closer.
Produced and directed by Ryan Wilkes

The Little Brown Bird (33m)
Once down to 80 in the wild, the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is at risk of extinction. Biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and an unexpected team work together to protect the sparrows, their shrinking habitat, and the headwaters of the Everglades.
Directed by KY Bryden
Produced by KT Bryden and Tom Swartwout, Executive Producers John Bowman, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

SATURDAY NIGHT, APRIL 5
AMC Lincoln Square 13, 1998 Broadway, 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, The Last Ranger
When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. In the ensuing battle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a terrible secret.
Directed by Cindy Lee
Produced by Darwin Shaw for Six Feet Films

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Lions of the Skeleton Coast
In this astonishing true story, lion researcher Dr. Philip Stander is witness to the most unprecedented lion behaviour whilst following three orphaned Desert Lion cubs, as they navigate the harsh realities of survival in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments, Namibia’s deadly Skeleton Coast.
Directed by Will and Lianne Steenkamp
Produced by Into Nature Productions for ORF UNIVERSUM, WNET, Arte, and WDR

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About Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom  
Since its network television premiere in 1963, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom has been one of the most loved and respected wildlife programs in television history. The Daytime Emmy® nominated Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, now airing weekends on NBC’s “The More You Know” time block, celebrates stories of conservation success, including the great work of caring, compassionate experts and how they are making a positive impact on the Wild Kingdom. For more information about Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, visit wildkingdom.com