I feel the memories of nearly 20 years in this valley.
Years of joy, pain, doubts, and reassurance… Few have lived as we have here.
I didnt want it to be some sort of fluff piece.
Kris Tompkins in ‘Wild Life’National Geographic
Id hope that it was very candid, Kris tells Deadline.
I gave them everything 26 years of journals, all the photography, everything.
Once I was in, I was all in.
L-R Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Kris Tompkins, Jimmy ChinClair Popkins/National Geographic Documentary Films
But it took me a while to decide.
Along the way, the couple faced death threats and covert surveillance by shadowy antagonists.
A tragic event almost sundered the immense conservation project.
Ridgeway survived, but Doug succumbed to severe hypothermia.
And that was difficult because I did have to relive it, Ridgeway tells Deadline.
And it was really hugely emotional.
As the film shows, she summoned the strength to go on.
And they all need help.
They all need volunteers.
Kris Tompkins says shes keeping her focus on the future.
We want our legacy to be rewilding Chile and rewilding Argentina.
And those are the people we worked with for decades, she says.
