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Still Wildcat

Wildcat

Melissa Lesh, Trevor Beck Frost / US, 2022 / 105 min.

After serving in Afghanistan, the young British soldier Harry Turner struggles with PTSD. This drives him deep into the South American rainforest, where he takes on the care of an orphaned ocelot—which above all becomes an exercise in letting go.

poster IDFA 2022

The British soldier Harry Turner was 18 when he was deployed to Afghanistan. He returned from the war a broken man. Struggling with PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts, he travels deep into the Peruvian rainforest, where he meets the US scientist Samantha. Together, they take care of an orphaned ocelot, a small spotted wildcat.

The film consists partly of material that Harry and Samantha filmed themselves and partly of footage by the directors of Wildcat, who later joined the pair. Intimate moments between humans and animals are combined with exciting shots of the treacherous nocturnal jungle to form an emotionally tortuous portrait of a person constantly battling his demons. It is out of this struggle that Harry forges a bond with the young wild animal.

His attempt to save the ocelot is above all an attempt to save himself. And making the animal self-reliant proves in fact to be an exercise in letting go. As he guides the animal in the jungle, Harry must also find his way back to society and to his family.

This is part of

Details

Director

Melissa Lesh, Trevor Beck Frost

Production year

2022

Country

US

Length

105 min.

Format

DCP

Part of

IDFA 2022

Documentary lovers, keep 9 through 20 November free in your calendar. The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam presents its 35th edition in cinemas throughout Amsterdam, including several special programmes in Eye.

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