HHMI Tangled Bank Studios announced its award winning film, BACKYARD WILDERNESS will be coming to Netflix globally on August 15. Created by Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers Andrew Young and Susan Todd, BACKYARD WILDERNESS invites viewers on an adventure to discover the unexpected natural wonders that go unseen all around us. The film invites families to immerse themselves in the natural world, using technology to experience nature like never before. The film was produced by Arise Media and Archipelago Films in collaboration with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, the company behind Oscar-nominated documentary ALL THAT BREATHES and award-winning films MY GARDEN OF A THOUSAND BEES, and THE SERENGETI RULES.
As Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy recently argued, social media is spurring a mental health emergency in young people; the need to take a break from devices and step outside has never been more important. The teams behind BACKYARD WILDERNESS set out to produce a film and educational campaign aimed at combating these risks, by encouraging viewers to discover the magic of nature close to home and instill a lifelong fascination in the natural world. Filmmakers Young and Todd were inspired by Rich Louv and his “Last Child in the Woods” movement to encourage children to become the next generation of citizen scientists, starting with the exploration of their own backyard.
More than just a film, BACKYARD WILDERNESS is part of a larger campaign providing technology and resources to allow viewers to go outside and explore their own backyards like never before. Offering free apps, exhibits and kits that all provide a variety of educational tools, the film encourages viewers to become active and engaged members of their local ecosystems through immersive time in the wilderness. The campaign SEEK—a family-friendly new app that helps kids identify and “collect” wild plants and animals; toolkits to host iNaturalist-based “bioblitz” citizen science observation events; and educational resources for parents and educators to help them get kids outside and exploring. Through this campaign, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and the creatives behind BACKYARD WILDERNESS hope to empower the next generation of citizen scientists.
“BACKYARD WILDERNESS is a beautiful and engaging family film with a mission to spark children’s natural curiosity and encourage them to observe the natural world around them,” says Jared Lipworth, Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. “We believe the film, and the SEEK app and other materials we developed alongside it, have the power to inspire kids to get out and explore the natural world.”
BACKYARD WILDERNESS follows young Katie and her family, living in a house at the edge of the woods. Absorbed by digital screens, electronics, and their busy modern lives, they’re blind to the real-life spectacle unfolding all around them. Until, that is, a school project sends Katie outdoors, and sparks her gradual discovery of a whole new world that had previously gone unnoticed. We experience her joy and wonder as her backyard comes alive—wood ducklings diving out of trees, a mouse running through the house, salamanders dodging traffic, and coyote pups learning how to hunt.
BACKYARD WILDERNESS reveals Katie’s wild neighbors in rare and breathtaking intimacy, with stunning 3D imagery captured by high-speed and time-lapse cameras mounted inside dens and nests, and sliding along the forest floor and pond bottom. The film highlights how unexpectedly exotic our own backyards can be—providing vivid proof that Wi-Fi is not the only connection that matters.
All of the materials are free, and can be downloaded from the BACKYARD WILDERNESS film website. View the trailer here.
About HHMI Tangled Bank Studios HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is a mission-driven production company that crafts exceptional films about science and nature that inspire wonder, curiosity, and hope. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the studio, a vision of biologist and author Sean B. Carroll, is uniquely positioned to shine a light on some of the most significant scientific challenges and breakthroughs of our time. Recent films include Oscar-nominated All That Breathes, the only documentary to win best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes; Emmy Award-winners The Serengeti Rules and The Farthest – Voyager In Space; Emmy-nominated Nature’s Fear Factor and My Garden of a Thousand Bees; and Peabody Award-winner Inventing Tomorrow. To extend the reach and impact of each film, the studio undertakes educational and public outreach efforts in partnership with mission-driven organizations. For more information, please visit WWW.TANGLEDBANKSTUDIOS.ORG.
About Arise Media / Archipelago Films Archipelago Films is a production company created by Academy Award-nominated, Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Susan Todd and Andrew Young. Arise Media is the non-profit they formed to make innovative media about the most urgent social and environmental challenges facing the planet, and to inspire a new appreciation for our own interconnected role in nature. With a well-established track record of directing, producing and filming, for television, theatrical and 3D IMAX® /Giant Screens, Archipelago and Arise aim to bring passionate and entertaining films to global audiences through the highest quality visual storytelling. For more information, please visit www.archipelagofilms.com, www.arisemedia.org
About SK Films SK Films is an award-winning content provider and a global leader in the IMAX® /Giant Screen industry. SK works across various genres and platforms, including theatrical, television and digital media, with a special emphasis on creating high impact natural history and science related content. SK has a reputation as one of the most accomplished and respected producers and distributors supplying 3D, 2D and Dome product to IMAX and other Giant Screen theaters worldwide, with a mission to entertain and inspire audiences and immerse them in the awe and wonder of the world we live in. For more information, please visit www.SKFilms.ca
About California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth. Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, it is home to a world-class aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum—all under one living roof.