History & Mission
REEL WILD™ New York Film Festival is New York City’s premier conservation film festival dedicated to showcasing stories on wildlife and wild places. The festival’s mission is to amplify the work of filmmakers and experts in the field who are at the forefront of conservation’s most pressing issues, with the understanding that film as a medium has the power to inspire audiences in a way that impels to action.
The inaugural festival took place April 3-5, 2025 at AMC Lincoln Square 13 and the Lotte Palace New York. Over three days, the festival brought together filmmakers from around the world (from South Africa to Missoula; St. Louis to Siberia) and tri-state audiences for film screenings, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, a Disneynature film premier, post-screening receptions, and a Family Day, sponsored by Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.
For its second year, REEL WILD is pivoting to a juried festival structure. All submitted films are eligible for award consideration, as determined by the jury. The festival accepts documentary and narrative films as they pertain to wildlife and wild places, particularly in connection with pertinent issues surrounding conservation, climate change, and affected communities.
A Wildlife Conservation Society Project
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world’s largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth’s known biodiversity, in partnership with governments, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and the private sector. Its four zoos and one aquarium (Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium) welcome more than 3.5 million visitors each year, inspiring across generations to care for nature. WCS was proud to serve as a founding partner of the New York WILD Film Festival, connecting people to nature through impactful nonfiction storytelling. Now, WCS is excited to launch the first juried edition of the REEL WILD™ New York Film Festival, a festival showcasing films that shares Wildlife Conservation Society’s commitment to conservation.
