I was honored to team up again with long time friend and collaborator Pete McBride for a story about inclusion, preservation and exploration: Gila Wild, a short documentary produced for American Rivers. Directed by Pete McBride, edited and produced by Jim Aikman.
This film project started out simply enough: Pete mounted a quick expedition during the early months of Covid to explore an intriguing area and promote its preservation. Few people in the country have even heard of this unique Wilderness area in New Mexico, myself included, but Pedro had heard it was one of the most beautiful and unspoiled waterways in the US. What he found exceeded all expectations.
Over the months that followed the expedition, the world was plunged into a long overdue conversation about social justice and inclusivity in the outdoors. And for Pete and me as producers, a different story emerged: one that explores the difference between conservation for conservation's sake and the needs of the locals who rely on it.
Film subjects Simon Sotelo and other Gila locals express their connection to this unique landscape, their historical reliance on it, and their vested need for its preservation - all of which certainly supercede a visit from outside recreationalists like Pete dropping in for a visit. The folks that call this place home are the ones that should be deciding it’s future, and participating in the conversations about how that takes place. The same should be considered in the conservation of all natural spaces, defering to the wishes and needs of the communities most affected by the health - or disease - of their natural surroundings. I think the film presents an important dialogue between largely unheard voices and the privilege of recreation.
As is often the case in documentary storytelling, I’m just an outsider - an interloper in someone else’s sacred space. But I hope that films like this can demonstrate the importance of listening to the voices that are left out of these conversations and give them a platform to be heard.