Our 8 films to watch on rewilding

Sometimes you have to see it to believe it! Rewilding is full of incredible stories and true heroes of nature. From fiction to documentaries, we have selected the best films that tell captivating stories of rewilding. From England to Patagonia, via the forests of America, embark on extraordinary adventures to enjoy during a movie night.

Mission Castor
by Patrick Destiné

In the 19th century, beavers disappeared from Wallonia, exterminated for their valuable fur and castoreum, a secretion prized in the perfume industry. While France and Germany had already reintroduced them decades ago, Belgium and Wallonia remained reluctant to take the plunge. Two nature and biodiversity enthusiasts, Olivier Rubbers and Achille Verschoren, decided to take up the challenge. Faced with the authorities’ refusal, they took the initiative to reintroduce the beaver themselves, clandestinely, at the risk of facing lengthy legal proceedings. Mission Castors recounts this adventure marked by wisdom, courage and humour. Although beavers are allies for forest biodiversity and a valuable asset in the midst of the climate crisis, cohabitation between humans and beavers remains a major challenge, sometimes marked by intense tensions and even conflicts.

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Wild Life
by Jimmy Chin

Directed by Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, Wild Life tells the extraordinary story of Kristine Tompkins, a passionate environmentalist and activist, in an adventure as wild as the landscapes she protects. Having fallen in love in mid-life, Kris and Doug Tompkins, adventurer and entrepreneur, left the world of business and the outdoor brands they had helped to create – Patagonia, The North Face and Esprit – to embark on a visionary project: the creation of national parks in Chile and Argentina. Wild Life traces the ups and downs of their journey to make the largest donation of private land in history.

Watch the film on Disney+.

The Biggest Little Farm (Anything is Possible)
by John Chester

When documentary filmmaker John Chester, his wife Molly and their dog Todd receive an eviction notice from their small flat, they decide to radically change their lives. So they buy 80 hectares of land near Los Angeles, where they develop a sustainable farm. They decided to film their progress, successes and failures over eight years of their lives.

Watch the film on VOD

Wilding
by David Allen

Wilding tells the story of a young couple who bet on nature for the future of their bankrupt, four-hundred-year-old estate. The young couple fights against deep-rooted tradition and dares to place the fate of their farm in the hands of nature. By tearing down the fences, they return the land to its wild state and entrust its restoration to a motley crew of both domesticated and wild animals. This is the beginning of a grand experiment that will become one of the most important rewilding experiments in Europe.

Watch the film on VOD

Captain Fantastic
by Matt Ross

In the remote forests of the north-western United States, living isolated from society, a devoted father has devoted his entire life to raising his six young children to be extraordinary adults. But when fate strikes his family, they must abandon the paradise he had created for them. Discovering the outside world forces him to question his parenting methods and everything he has taught them.

Watch the film on VOD

Preserved
by Ben Clark

This documentary unveils Vermejo, a huge ‘living laboratory’ covering more than 225,000 hectares in northern New Mexico. Filmed over more than 130 days, the film takes viewers to the heart of this breathtaking landscape, following the enthusiasts who are working to restore this biodiverse ecosystem. Vermejo is living proof that restoration is not only possible, but happening. The film captures rarely seen wildlife behaviour and documents concrete successes. This ambitious project, launched by Ted Turner in 1996 on land once scarred by mining, is now establishing itself as a true model for the future.

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The Rewilders
by Marlene Rodgers

This documentary follows pioneers of rewilding across three continents as they work to save species such as the jaguar and Pacific salmon. It shows that rewilding is a concrete and viable solution to the climate crisis. The impact of these individual efforts is helping to galvanise a global movement, one species and one landscape at a time. As scientific sources reveal, when animals return, ecosystems regenerate: they store more carbon, restore their resilience and offer concrete hope in the face of the ecological emergency.

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Rewilding Patagonia
by Arnaud Hiltzer and Aurélie Miquel

This is one of the most inspiring stories of rewilding in our time, that of Douglas and Kristine Tompkins, a couple of successful entrepreneurs – The North Face and Esprit – who decided to devote themselves to protecting vast territories in Patagonia. The result of their actions is astonishing: in 30 years, they have enabled the creation and expansion of 18 national parks between Chile and Argentina, covering a total area of 7 million hectares, equivalent to the size of a country like Ireland. Arnaud Hiltzer and Aurélie Miquel embark on a journey to the heart of one of the world’s largest rewilding projects to see, learn and be inspired. By participating in the actions implemented in the field (releasing wild animals, radio broadcasts, scientific programmes, etc.), they combine their discoveries with their learning in a road movie that showcases the beauty of nature.

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If you would like to suggest other films to add to this article, please write to us at contact@intotherewild.org.