“The Wildlife Refugees” shows how wildlife volunteers pay the emotional, physical, and financial burden of picking up the pieces of the mess we have made while working to protect their local wildlife and nature corridors from the profound impact of urban development.
Over the course of the film, we see our protagonists give their hearts to the animals they find with full knowledge they could be broken, yet as one character tells us, “Working with Australian wildlife is a great privilege and incredibly rewarding… Whether it’s a greater glider, a koala, or a little tiny grassland dragon – all of our species are so remarkable and the experience of being close to an animal like that and being able to help it when it is in need is an incredible privilege. It’s almost beyond words and I wish that every Australian could experience it.”
Our story takes place in Canberra – the capitol city of Australia where wildlife and people live side by side. This is not a far away location in the Amazon.
Birds, wombats, and snakes are regularly found in streets, businesses, and homes because they are desperate for habitat as theirs slowly recedes. Easily relatable local residents are moved by their encounters with injured wildlife and go out of their way to rescue the animal, revealing the inherent potential for empathy within everyone.
As Australia faces an extinction crisis, we highlight the potential of Canberra to set a global example in urban wildlife preservation.
We want our film to inspire audiences to recognise that communion with nature can transcend technological connection and we must prioritise wildlife co-existence with every lifestyle and policy decision we make. We must re-imagine our place in a more-than-human world.
