On the hunt for a life more connected to the natural world, American photographer and documentary filmmaker Olivia Katz sets off for Australia. She imagines a land brimming with pristine wilderness and abundant wildlife. A place where native animals and endemic ecosystems are celebrated and protected.
But instead, she arrives in late 2019 to find her new homeland ablaze, engulfed by the Black Summer bushfires. Heartbroken but determined to take action, Olivia begins documenting what’s unfolding across her new homeland as one disaster seems to lead to the next, from fires to floods, community displacement to the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and more.
The Rising Wild tracks the intertwining stories of Olivia’s own journey with that of our planet. After years of documenting disasters and unearthing unsettling truths about humanity’s fraught relationship with our natural world, a mounting eco-anxiety forces Olivia to confront her deepest fears about our planet’s future. But within this darkness, something fundamental and essential begins to shift. The problems were clear and loud and splashed across the headlines. But what she really wanted to understand was –how do we turn this story around?
So she throws herself into research on nature based solutions, transformational adaptation and Indigenous ecological knowledge and soon, Olivia discovers a way forward—one that isn’t rooted in fear, but in courage and wisdom.
Inspired by a growing sense of possibility, Olivia embarks on a hope-fuelled mission to meet those who are pioneering the most effective, just, and nature-based strategies for tackling our planet’s biggest problems.
The Rising Wild brings to screen the diverse people and projects which are proving a different way is possible. These aren’t abstract concepts or fairytales; they are real, scalable solutions which are already transforming landscapes and benefiting communities around the world.
At its core, The Rising Wild is about reclaiming a vision of life which is abundant, thriving and just. It is a call to reimagine humanity’s relationship with the Earth—not as exploiters but as stewards.
