April 19-24, 2025

Welcome to the Wild

Founded in 1977, IWFF is the oldest ongoing festival devoted to wildlife films. The festival returns in 2025 for its 48th year in Missoula, Montana.

2025 Festival Calendar

Events in April 2025

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
April 13, 2025
April 14, 2025
April 15, 2025
April 16, 2025
April 17, 2025
April 18, 2025
April 19, 2025(9 events)

11:00 am: WildWalk Parade


April 19, 2025

You’re invited to join the pack on Saturday, April 19: celebrate your connection to the WILD! Dress up as your favorite flora or fauna and walk, hop, or crawl down Higgins Ave towards the XXXX’s!

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12:00 pm: WildFest


April 19, 2025

WildFest picks up where the WildWalk parade ends at the XXXX’s and BN Plaza with live music, food trucks, and fun activities hosted by local organizations dedicated to sharing knowledge with our community about wildlife and conservation.

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2:00 pm: Shorts Block 1: Conservation Stories


April 19, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 1: Conservation Stories

The Blackfeet Nation sts off on an unprecedented path towards the cultural and spiritual renewal of their people by returning free-roaming buffalo to the reservation after decades of absence (“Where We Once Roamed”). The longtime visitors of an untamed stretch of beach in Texas have their right to beach access curtailed when SpaceX takes flight (“Boca Chica”). Members of the band Par Avion are passionate fly-fishers advocating for the protection of California’s endangered Steelhead trout (“Don’t Doubt the Trout”). These are just a few of the inspiring, pressing stories in the “Conservation Stories” shorts block.

Screening includes a live Q&A session with the filmmakers!

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2:15 pm: Fabulous Insects – Ants & Sandcastle – The Secret Life of Potter Wasps


April 19, 2025

Fabulous Insects – Ants shows the diversity, beauty and exciting strategies of ants in their various habitats. Whether in the tropics of South America or the cities of Europe, the world of ants is full of surprises.

Sandcastle - The Secret Life of Potter Wasps. Join a courageous potter wasp on an enthralling journey! Witness this fascinating insect’s tenacity and perseverance as it navigates its dangerous realm teeming with challenges and predators.

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2:30 pm: Turtle Walker


April 19, 2025

In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastlines and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction. After a devastating tsunami strikes in 2004, Bhaskar grapples with a pressing question: What happens to sea turtles when their nesting beaches disappear?

More information

4:45 pm: Mighty Monkeys & Heart of the Osa


April 19, 2025

Mighty Monkeys: Japanese macaques migrated to Japan during a glacial period 400,000 years ago and flourished, developing amazing abilities. Mighty Monkeys ventures into regions with heavy snowfall, high mountains, and rough seas to reveal how macaques survive in extreme environments. With exquisite footage, it sheds new light on some of Japan's most iconic creatures.

Heart of the Osa: Discover the inspiring efforts of dedicated conservationists in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth—the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. NGOs are making a difference in the fight for wildlife, protecting endangered species, restoring fragile ecosystems, and empowering local communities. From the marine conservation work of Raising Coral to the sea turtle protection efforts of COPROT Tortugas De Osa, and from the reforestation initiatives of Biriteca Agroecológica to the conservation projects led by BioSur Foundation and Las Oncas, each organization plays a crucial role in safeguarding this unique environment.

More information

5:00 pm: Shorts Block 4 (Wildlife Heroes)


April 19, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 4: Wildlife Heroes

A father-daughter wildlife rescue team cares for sun and moon bears who have lost limbs from being caught in snare traps in Cambodia (“Bear Guardians”). The WildOne rescue hospital in South Korea has been seeing an increasing number of animals with severe lacerations and torn wounds during emergency surgeries, but who is the culprit behind these injuries? (“Who Killed It?”) A group of Zambian conservationists battle to protect the most trafficked animal in the world (“Love Like Ours is Rare”). These champions for the voiceless, and many more, can be seen in the “Wildlife Heroes” shorts block.

More information

5:15 pm: The Shepherd and the Bear


April 19, 2025

Set high in the majestic French Pyrenees, The Shepherd and the Bear explores a conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears into the midst of a traditional shepherding community. The film follows an aging shepherd who struggles to find a successor as bears prey on his flock, and a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with tracking the bears. Through its breathtaking cinematography and immersive storytelling, The Shepherd and the Bear is a modern folktale about tradition, community and humanity’s relationship with a vanishing natural world.

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7:00 pm: Lost Wolves of Yellowstone


April 19, 2025

Lost Wolves of Yellowstone is a thrilling feature documentary derived from primary 16mm film footage -recovered and restored for the first time - and in-depth interviews with the key players at the center of the historic Yellowstone Wolf reintroduction.  The narrative follows the eternally interconnected stories of Mollie Beattie and Wolf #5 – the alpha female of the Mollie’s Pack.

Mollie Beattie was the first female director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  Her unprecedented journey included a brief stint as a fashion model in New York and a life-changing Outward Bound expedition that inspired her to pursue a career in environmental science and conservation.

In January 1995, Mollie initiated the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone, one of the most controversial and ambitious wildlife restoration projects in recorded human history.  It was a "Grand Experiment”.  Molly testified and debated wolf critics in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and ultimately forged unlikely friendships with her adversaries - most notably Republican Congressman Don Young from Alaska.

The first wolf that Mollie carried into the experimental acclimation pens in Yellowstone was Alpha Female #5.  The matriarch was captured with five of her family members in the remote Canadian wilderness.  Nobody knew if the translocated pack would survive.  In the harrowing early years of the reintroduction, Wolf #5 lived out a Shakespearean drama set in the world's first national park.  Her mate, Alpha Male #4, was killed by the rival Druid Pack, while her many offspring dispersed.

In the Summer of 1995, just months after the wolves arrived in Yellowstone, Mollie Beattie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  She was only 49 years-old and chose to continue to work behalf of wolves and endangered species.   As Molly fought for her life, Alpha Female #5 searched for a new territory in most remote regions of Yellowstone.  She would go on to find a new mate and re-build her pack from the ashes – a family that Yellowstone officials named, Mollie’s Pack.

Don’t miss this story so big we had to move to a larger venue to share it! There will be a Q&A session with director Thomas Winston and editor Avela Grenier following the film! 

Please note: Roxy member benefits do not apply to this special event.

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April 20, 2025(8 events)

2:00 pm: Shorts Block 2: Studying the Wild


April 20, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 2: Studying the Wild

What’s so special about jumping spider vision? (“The World According to Jumping Spiders”) Why might a reindeer population in Norway growing in the face of climate change actually be a bad sign? (“Reindalen”) Do honeybees actively make decisions when collecting pollen, or are they just running on instinct? (“Uncovering Animal Minds”) These are a handful of questions filmmakers are asking in the “Studying the Wild” shorts block.

Followed by a Q&A with filmmakers!

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2:15 pm: Family Friendly: The Americas – The Wild West & Animal Wonders


April 20, 2025

Get ready for a wild adventure! In this episode, we visit the Wild West, where sneaky coyotes play in the snow, and rattlesnakes come out to say hello after a long winter nap. Busy woodpeckers race to hide their snacks, and giant bison have big battles on the grasslands. You’ll also see cranes flying together on a trip they’ve been taking for millions of years! Nature is full of surprises—and this show is full of fun!

Presented alongside Animal Wonders!

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2:30 pm: Fungi: Web of Life & Artificial Planet


April 20, 2025

Much of life on Earth is connected by a vast, hidden network which we are only just beginning to understand. Out of sight, between the world of plants and animals, another world exists: the kingdom of fungi.

Artificial Planet: An aspiring filmmaker explores how generative artificial intelligence (AI) will impact ethical issues in the wildlife film industry.

More information

4:45 pm: The Last Mermaids of Korea


April 20, 2025

The phenomenally resilient women of Marado Island at the southernmost tip of South Korea are like no one else on the planet. These are Korea’s traditional Haenyeo: middle-aged and elderly female divers who hold their breath for more than two minutes to depths of up to 20 meters. They make their livelihood combing the seabed for culinary treasures for restaurants in Korea and Japan: kelp, sea cucumbers, conchs, and abalone. Once widespread across Jeju Island, Haenyeo have seen their numbers dwindle down to a handful of old-timers. Witness the daily lives and extraordinary histories of the Haenyeo as they unfold throughout the year from the depths of winter through spring, summer and autumn.

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5:00 pm: Lions of the Skeleton Coast


April 20, 2025

Three orphaned desert lion cubs discover a remarkable way of survival along the mystical shores of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. Documented over eight years, we follow the ground-breaking work of lion researcher Dr Philip Stander as he witnesses the orphaned cubs’ incredible journey, from their first unsteady steps in the heart of the desert, to their remarkable discovery of an extraordinary life along the Skeleton Coast.

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5:15 pm: Birdsong & The Last Observers


April 20, 2025

Birdsong
Director and Producer: Kathleen Harris
Ornithologist Seán Ronayne is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland–nearly 200 birds. He travels to the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island. Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.

The Last Observers
Married couple Karin Persson and Lennart Karlsson have spent the last 37 years as weather observers, recording the weather every third hour, day and night, every day of the week. Their daughter portrays their last year before the weather station becomes automated, as all the other weather stations have already been. It is a multifaceted and heartwarming story about many types of love.

More information

7:00 pm: Animal Pride


April 20, 2025

After observing same-sex behaviour in orcas, naturalist Connel Bradwell embarks on a journey to unveil the diverse expressions of gender and animal behaviour in nature. Animal Pride challenges conventional wildlife assumptions and presents a riotous rebellion against stereotypes. Connel's irreverent approach takes a wrecking ball to the ivory tower of heteronormative science, demanding answers to why the world has been missing out on the wild, wonderful, and even sexy side of nature.

More information

7:15 pm: A Good Wolf


April 20, 2025

A Good Wolf is a feature-length documentary film examining a 40-year conflict over a single tract of land adjacent to Denali National Park—a volatile struggle between state and federal authorities, fur trappers and wildlife advocates, and competing human interests on public lands. Armed with thorough data, biologists and activists bring a new proposal to state authorities, hoping to regain protections for wolves near the park boundary. But local trappers are adamantly opposed. Hanging in the balance are some of America’s most iconic animals and wild places.

April 21, 2025(6 events)

5:00 pm: The Last Mermaids of Korea


April 21, 2025

The phenomenally resilient women of Marado Island at the southernmost tip of South Korea are like no one else on the planet. These are Korea’s traditional Haenyeo: middle-aged and elderly female divers who hold their breath for more than two minutes to depths of up to 20 meters. They make their livelihood combing the seabed for culinary treasures for restaurants in Korea and Japan: kelp, sea cucumbers, conchs, and abalone. Once widespread across Jeju Island, Haenyeo have seen their numbers dwindle down to a handful of old-timers. Witness the daily lives and extraordinary histories of the Haenyeo as they unfold throughout the year from the depths of winter through spring, summer and autumn.

More information

5:15 pm: Stewards of the Land, Chapter 3: Summer Part 1


April 21, 2025

June in Montana brings a spectacular show of wildflowers and critters to MPG Ranch. The Bitterroots bloom, elk migrate to the mountains, and western toads find their breeding grounds in the wetland. Meanwhile, the stewards work through various tasks as summer fieldwork picks up. William and Joshua work to fix a Motus tower, Chuck and McKenzie focus on the native plant seed farm, Marirose leads a group of interns on a butterfly walk, and Matt explores the floodplain.

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5:30 pm: Fungi: Web of Life & Artificial Planet


April 21, 2025

Much of life on Earth is connected by a vast, hidden network which we are only just beginning to understand. Out of sight, between the world of plants and animals, another world exists: the kingdom of fungi.

Artificial Planet: An aspiring filmmaker explores how generative artificial intelligence (AI) will impact ethical issues in the wildlife film industry.

More information

7:00 pm: The Americas - Patagonia


April 21, 2025

Patagonia is one of the wildest places on Earth! In this action-packed episode, you'll meet amazing animals like speedy pumas, marching penguins, and funny beetles! From icy mountains to windy grasslands, "The Americas: Patagonia" shows how these fantastic creatures survive and thrive in one of the planet's most extreme and beautiful places. Get ready for close-up animal moments, fun facts, and a wild adventure you’ll never forget!

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7:15 pm: Out of Plain Sight


April 21, 2025

Out of Plain Sight is a cinematic exposé of an environmental disaster lurking just off the coast of California. Not far from Catalina Island, aboard one of the most-advanced research ships in the world, David Valentine discovered a corroded barrel on the seafloor that gave him chills. The full environmental horror sharpens into greater clarity once he calls Los Angeles Times journalist Rosanna Xia, who pieces together a stunning revelation: for decades, as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been dumped into the ocean, and people today must reckon with the consequences.

More information

7:30 pm: Shorts Block 4 (Wildlife Heroes)


April 21, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 4: Wildlife Heroes

A father-daughter wildlife rescue team cares for sun and moon bears who have lost limbs from being caught in snare traps in Cambodia (“Bear Guardians”). The WildOne rescue hospital in South Korea has been seeing an increasing number of animals with severe lacerations and torn wounds during emergency surgeries, but who is the culprit behind these injuries? (“Who Killed It?”) A group of Zambian conservationists battle to protect the most trafficked animal in the world (“Love Like Ours is Rare”). These champions for the voiceless, and many more, can be seen in the “Wildlife Heroes” shorts block.

 

More information

April 22, 2025(8 events)

5:00 pm: The Invisible Mammal – Sneak Peek!


April 22, 2025

Against the backdrop of the sixth mass extinction, an all-female team of biologists set out to save bats from a deadly fungal disease. When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts their work, they are sent down a path of discovery that illuminates the connections between bat conservation and the spread of infectious disease.

Sneak Peek of a Work in Progress!

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5:15 pm: Little Brown Bird & Hokkaido's Endangered Birds


April 22, 2025

The Little Brown Bird
Director: KT Bryden
Producers: Tom Swartwout, KT Bryden

Once down to 80 in the wild, the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is at risk of extinction. Biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and a group of unexpected collaborators work to protect the sparrows, their shrinking habitat, and the headwaters of the Everglades.


Crises on the Comeback Trail: Hokkaido's Endangered Birds
Executive Producers: Shota Tanaka, Yuji Maruyama, Yasuhiro Adachi

Japan’s northern island Hokkaido is a paradise for wild birds. Some endangered species of large birds there have benefited from conservation efforts over the past few decades, but new threats are putting that progress at risk. Diseases and collisions with vehicles, power lines, and wind turbines are just some of the challenges the birds face. This documentary shows how veterinarians and researchers are developing initiatives to help the birds grow in number.

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5:30 pm: Ireland’s Wild Islands, Episode 2 – Summer on the Edge


April 22, 2025

Witness dazzling wildlife spectacles around Ireland’s Atlantic islands. Spot throngs of basking sharks, frolicking humpback whales, warring grey seals, lovestruck corncrakes, and many more of the region’s untamed wonders. Explore a 1,500-year-old monastery among the dizzying crags of the world-famous Skellig Islands. Spy Manx shearwaters and humpback whales, then chase after pygmy shrews on Clare before heading to the Aran Islands for a peek at an autumn spectacle.

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6:30 pm: A Balancing Act: New Threats to Recovering Endangered Species - Salmon, Wolves, and Grizzlies


April 22, 2025 April 23, 2025

An Evening with IWFF and the University of Montana Wildlife Biology Program
Free & Open to Public

Post screening panel discussion with professor Dr. Will Rice, M.S. student Miranda Foster, and photographer Tom Murphy. The director of the Wildlife Biology Program, Dr. Chad Bishop, will moderate the discussion.

FROZEN FRAMES: MURPHY'S YELLOWSTONE

Photographer Tom Murphy has dedicated his life to speaking out for the wildlife of Yellowstone. In the dead of winter, Murphy treks deep into the park to capture the lives and struggles of those who survive there. His remarkable photographs capture both the magnificence of Yellowstone and one man’s tenacious dedication to protect what’s still wild.

SALMON SECRETS

Fish farming is pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction. The federal government has promised to remove fish farms from British Columbia waters by 2025, but now industry is pushing back. Join Clayoquot Action’s fish farm watchdog program as a team of underwater cinematographers investigates an “experimental” fish farm near Tofino. What they find shocks them, and spells potential disaster for wild salmon.

More information

7:15 pm: Antarctica Unearthed


April 22, 2025

Embark on an adventure to the most alien landscape on Earth with National Geographic Explorer Ariel Waldman, as she explores Antarctica’s extreme, Mars-like habitats and the mysterious ecosystems that host the smallest animals on the planet.

More information

7:30 pm: Birdsong & The Last Observers


April 22, 2025

Birdsong
Director and Producer: Kathleen Harris
Ornithologist Seán Ronayne is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland–nearly 200 birds. He travels to the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island. Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.

The Last Observers
Married couple Karin Persson and Lennart Karlsson have spent the last 37 years as weather observers, recording the weather every third hour, day and night, every day of the week. Their daughter portrays their last year before the weather station becomes automated, as all the other weather stations have already been. It is a multifaceted and heartwarming story about many types of love.

More information

7:30 pm: Shorts Block 3: Reframing the Wild


April 22, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 3: Reframing the Wild

A meditation on the horseshoe crab, one of Earth's oldest living species, told through the old lecture slides of physiologist Dr. Abner Lall (“Moon Crab”). A young couple in a long-distance relationship imagines themselves as three different endangered species (“Would You Still Love Me if I was a Sticky Frog?”). A cry from the species, startled into survival against the elements, visualized through interpretive dance (“Somber Tides”). The “Reframing the Wild” shorts block presents 9 new visions in wildlife storytelling.

Includes a live Q&A with the filmmakers!

More information

7:45 pm: Mighty Monkeys & Heart of the Osa


April 22, 2025

Mighty Monkeys: Japanese macaques migrated to Japan during a glacial period 400,000 years ago and flourished, developing amazing abilities. Mighty Monkeys ventures into regions with heavy snowfall, high mountains, and rough seas to reveal how macaques survive in extreme environments. With exquisite footage, it sheds new light on some of Japan's most iconic creatures.

Heart of the Osa: Discover the inspiring efforts of dedicated conservationists in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth—the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. NGOs are making a difference in the fight for wildlife, protecting endangered species, restoring fragile ecosystems, and empowering local communities. From the marine conservation work of Raising Coral to the sea turtle protection efforts of COPROT Tortugas De Osa, and from the reforestation initiatives of Biriteca Agroecológica to the conservation projects led by BioSur Foundation and Las Oncas, each organization plays a crucial role in safeguarding this unique environment.

More information

April 23, 2025(7 events)

6:30 pm: A Balancing Act: New Threats to Recovering Endangered Species - Salmon, Wolves, and Grizzlies


April 22, 2025 April 23, 2025

An Evening with IWFF and the University of Montana Wildlife Biology Program
Free & Open to Public

Post screening panel discussion with professor Dr. Will Rice, M.S. student Miranda Foster, and photographer Tom Murphy. The director of the Wildlife Biology Program, Dr. Chad Bishop, will moderate the discussion.

FROZEN FRAMES: MURPHY'S YELLOWSTONE

Photographer Tom Murphy has dedicated his life to speaking out for the wildlife of Yellowstone. In the dead of winter, Murphy treks deep into the park to capture the lives and struggles of those who survive there. His remarkable photographs capture both the magnificence of Yellowstone and one man’s tenacious dedication to protect what’s still wild.

SALMON SECRETS

Fish farming is pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction. The federal government has promised to remove fish farms from British Columbia waters by 2025, but now industry is pushing back. Join Clayoquot Action’s fish farm watchdog program as a team of underwater cinematographers investigates an “experimental” fish farm near Tofino. What they find shocks them, and spells potential disaster for wild salmon.

More information

5:00 pm: Shorts Block 6: Art & Wildlife


April 23, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 6: Art & Wildlife Ornithologist and artist Dr. Rob Butler explores the complicated and beautiful lives of crows while looking back on a lifetime of corvid obsession (“Society of Crows”). In the dead of winter, photographer Tom Murphy treks deep into Yellowstone National Park to capture the lives and struggles of those who survive there (“Frozen Frames: Murphy’s Yellowstone”). A filmmaker, facing up to the twilight of his career, sets out to use his camera skills to decipher the relationship between a million seabirds and a single hunting falcon (“The Birds”). Art and wildlife collide in the stories of these three incredible artists and researchers.

More information

5:15 pm: Turtle Walker


April 23, 2025

In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastlines and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction. After a devastating tsunami strikes in 2004, Bhaskar grapples with a pressing question: What happens to sea turtles when their nesting beaches disappear?

More information

5:30 pm: Shorts Block 5: Living with Wildlife


April 23, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 5: Living with Wildlife

In India, a country in the throes of human-wildlife conflict, a unique anomaly exists in the villages of the Charotar region, where people live in harmony with India’s largest freshwater predator (“Even So”). In the northern reaches of Manitoba sits the small town of Churchill, unique in that the human residents are outnumbered by polar bears (“Polar Bear Country”). In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behavior (“The Bird in My Backyard”). Living with wildlife can be enriching, thrilling, and dangerous. The “Living with Wildlife” shorts block collects just a few stories of human-wildlife relationships from around the world.

More information

7:30 pm: The American Southwest - Sneak Peek


April 23, 2025

Narrated by indigenous environmentalist Quannah Chasinghorse, The American Southwest journeys down the mighty Colorado River, examining the astonishing beauty and biodiversity of the region, while confronting the environmental destruction from dams and the river’s precarious fate. The story is told through never-before-seen wildlife sequences such as beavers building wetlands, condors recovering from the brink, and the return of Jaguars to American soil. The film beautifully advocates for better management of the river and increased wildlife conservation efforts in the iconic landscapes of the American Southwest.

A sneek peek of a work in progress. 

More information

7:45 pm: Out of Plain Sight


April 23, 2025

Out of Plain Sight is a cinematic exposé of an environmental disaster lurking just off the coast of California. Not far from Catalina Island, aboard one of the most-advanced research ships in the world, David Valentine discovered a corroded barrel on the seafloor that gave him chills. The full environmental horror sharpens into greater clarity once he calls Los Angeles Times journalist Rosanna Xia, who pieces together a stunning revelation: for decades, as many as half a million barrels of toxic waste had been dumped into the ocean, and people today must reckon with the consequences.

More information

8:00 pm: Animal Pride


April 23, 2025

After observing same-sex behaviour in orcas, naturalist Connel Bradwell embarks on a journey to unveil the diverse expressions of gender and animal behaviour in nature. Animal Pride challenges conventional wildlife assumptions and presents a riotous rebellion against stereotypes. Connel's irreverent approach takes a wrecking ball to the ivory tower of heteronormative science, demanding answers to why the world has been missing out on the wild, wonderful, and even sexy side of nature.

More information

April 24, 2025(7 events)

5:00 pm: A Good Wolf


April 24, 2025

A Good Wolf is a feature-length documentary film examining a 40-year conflict over a single tract of land adjacent to Denali National Park—a volatile struggle between state and federal authorities, fur trappers and wildlife advocates, and competing human interests on public lands. Armed with thorough data, biologists and activists bring a new proposal to state authorities, hoping to regain protections for wolves near the park boundary. But local trappers are adamantly opposed. Hanging in the balance are some of America’s most iconic animals and wild places.

5:15 pm: Family-Friendly: Coral Sea + Music Time with SISBRO


April 24, 2025

SISBRO
Founded by the sister/brother team of Laura and Robert Sams, Sisbro Studios is an award-winning media and video production company based in Portland, Oregon that creates mega-awesome kids programming, moving documentaries, mind-blowing science content and memorable music.

Coral Sea
Legend has it that the islands of the Coral Sea are built on the back of a giant sea turtle. Saltwater runs through the veins of the local people, who are deeply connected to the ocean. The Coral Sea islands are also some of the most important sanctuaries for endangered green sea turtles in the world. Join local conservationists as they safeguard the future of green sea turtles, one tiny new hatchling at a time.

Get your Feet Wet Series (selected episodes)
Following the films, SISBRO will enchant the audience with a special presentation including songs, sketches, interactivity, and Mega-Awesome content for the whole family.

More information

5:30 pm: Shorts Block 5: Living with Wildlife


April 24, 2025

IWFF Shorts Block 5: Living with Wildlife

In India, a country in the throes of human-wildlife conflict, a unique anomaly exists in the villages of the Charotar region, where people live in harmony with India’s largest freshwater predator (“Even So”). In the northern reaches of Manitoba sits the small town of Churchill, unique in that the human residents are outnumbered by polar bears (“Polar Bear Country”). In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behavior (“The Bird in My Backyard”). Living with wildlife can be enriching, thrilling, and dangerous. The “Living with Wildlife” shorts block collects just a few stories of human-wildlife relationships from around the world.

More information

7:30 pm: Closing Night Party


April 24, 2025

Join the IWFF community at the Montana Natural History Center for our closing party. Chat with filmmakers, enjoy food and drink, and reflect on festival favorites.

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7:30 pm: Flamingos: Life After the Meteorite


April 24, 2025

Just off the northern edge of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, broad extensions of shallow water form an estuary that divides land and sea. Once a year it transforms from an inhospitable expanse into the gathering place for one of North America’s great natural spectacles.

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7:45 pm: The Grand Salmon


April 24, 2025

Following three women on a 78-day paddling expedition, The Grand Salmon explores the effects of four dams on the Lower Snake River and their impact throughout the watershed on rapidly dwindling wild salmon populations. For over 1,000 miles, these women navigate the same waterways wild salmon have for generations, connecting the source of the Salmon River to the Pacific Ocean. From high water to extreme temperatures, this team not only faces the same natural challenges the fish do each year, but brings viewers along to experience what the construction of these dams has done to our ecosystems and wildlife.

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8:00 pm: How Deep Is Your Love


April 24, 2025

How Deep is Your Love follows biologists as they explore the deep sea, where 70% of our planet lies hidden. As they uncover mesmerizing creatures and ecosystems thriving in darkness, a looming threat emerges: the prospect of deep-sea mining in this untouched wilderness.

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April 25, 2025
April 26, 2025
April 27, 2025
April 28, 2025
April 29, 2025
April 30, 2025
May 1, 2025
May 2, 2025
May 3, 2025

See the 2025 Trailer

Join us for WildWalk and WildFest!

You’re invited to join the pack on Saturday, April 19: celebrate your connection to the WILD! Dress up as your favorite flora or fauna and walk, hop, or crawl down Higgins Ave towards the XXXX’s! The parade will start moving at 11:00am.

The Lost Wolves of Yellowstone

Lost Wolves of Yellowstone is a thrilling feature documentary derived from primary 16mm film footage -recovered and restored for the first time – and in-depth interviews with the key players at the center of the historic Yellowstone Wolf reintroduction. The narrative follows the eternally interconnected stories of Mollie Beattie and Wolf #5 – the alpha female of the Mollie’s Pack.
A post film discussion with Director Thomas Winston and Editor Avela Grenier will immediately follow the conclusion of the film.
Person looks back towards camera by Yellowstone archway.

2025 Official Selections

2025 selections include films that are having their world premiere (Mighty Monkeys and The Last Mermaids of Korea), and US premiere (Fabulous Insects – Ants and Antarctica Unearthed) at IWFF. The festival will feature films from BBC and IMAX, as well as independent and student filmmakers from around the globe. There are 6 unique shorts blocks screening throughout the fest. There will be visiting filmmakers from South Korea, Germany, Canada, and the US, as well as local and regional alumni of the festival.

IWFF 48 Virtual Festival

Sponsored by

Catch the Virtual fest 4/26 – 5/2. The virtual catalog is varied in terms of regional blocking and date availability due to each film’s licensing terms. IWFF’s goal is to make each film in the catalog accessible globally for at least 24 hours.

Virtual festival opens April 26th!

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