Part of the Pack
We are glad to repost this preview of Part of the Pack, a 2022 film by directors Isabelle Groc and Mike McKinlay, produced by Kevin Eastwood. As wolves continue to struggle to survive and thrive, it is more important than ever to advocate on behalf of their wellbeing and their wild lives.
From director Isabelle Groc:
Feared and hated, wolves have been banned from the wilderness through systematic extermination on the west coast of North America. For decades, there were no wolves on Vancouver Island. When some animals that had persisted on British Columbia’s mainland swam across and attempted to recolonize the island, they were killed off, again and again. Only in the 1990s, did wolves begin to survive long enough to reclaim their old territories.
During that time our fascination with wolves, as the quintessential symbol of wilderness has become stronger. As we increasingly become removed from nature and live in urban settings, we seek to get closer to the wild. A chance to catch a glimpse of a wolf in its natural habitat is the ultimate opportunity to reconnect to the forgotten, untouched wild. Wolves on the other hand are coming back to a landscape that is very much dominated by humans, leaving them with less space to live their lives. This means that people and wolves are now getting closer to each other and intermingling in unprecedented ways. Some people have taken their “call of the wild” a step further by raising wolf dogs and bringing wolf-like animals into their own homes.
Part of the Pack explores this new territory where wild meets domesticated. Through the individual journey of our characters, we follow the different ways in which we get closer to wolves and wolves get closer to us. Ultimately, the film invites viewers to rethink the nature of our engagement to the wild in today’s world.
The full film will be available for streaming on Knowledge Network on June 6, 2023.
Kim Hightower is the communications specialist for PAN Works.
Please visit PAN Works for more about our work on ethics and animal wellbeing.
