
Successful premiere of “Wild Life”, the movie by National Geographic Documentary Films about Kristine and Douglas Tompkins
The Minister of National Assets, Javiera Toro, and the Minister of Environment, Maisa Rojas, were among the more than 1000 people who saw the documentary at the two screenings in Santiago.
Directed by Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, "Wild Life" shows the epic love story of the North American conservationists who made the world's largest private donation to conserve Chilean Patagonia.

More than a thousand people attended the two events held in Santiago where National Geographic Documentary Films inspirational feature film “Wild Life” was shown, which tells the story of Kristine and Douglas Tompkins, from their origins linked to companies such as Patagonia, Esprit and North Face, to the radical change in their lives when they decided to dedicate themselves to conservation.
The events took place on Thursday, March 16 and Friday, March 17, and were attended by various authorities such as the Minister of National Assets, Javiera Toro, the Minister of the Environment, Maisa Rojas, the Undersecretary of the Environment, Max Proaño, as well as representatives of CONAF, SERNATUR, Marca Chile, environmental organizations and the general public.
In its 93 minutes, the film covers the most significant moments of the philanthropists’ trajectory, such as land purchases in southern Chile, the death of Douglas Tompkins in 2015, and the realization of the largest donation from a private person to a State, through Tompkins Conservation and Rewilding Chile, which allowed the creation of seven new national parks for Chile and the expansion of three others.
The audiovisual piece features diverse testimonials that highlight throughout the film the urgency of conserving the last pristine places, inspiring others to take action to ensure the future of the Planet.
Oscar winners Oscar Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, of Little Monsters Films, are the ones directing this production, which began shooting in 2017 and, in addition to being presented in Chile, is being shown at festivals in Europe and at the South by Southwest Festival, one of the main festivals in the United States.
“We are happy with the reception this film has had. It shows not only the love between two people, but also allows us to understand where Doug and Kris come from, their love for nature and the efforts they have made to conserve it. At Rewilding Chile, we continue with this legacy, working to create parks, restoring them to achieve complete ecosystems and linking communities with their protected areas along the Patagonian Parks Route. We hope to continue to count on the support of all those who have accompanied us over the years,” said Carolina Morgado, Executive Director of Rewilding Chile.
In line with this, Kristine Tompkins, president of Tompkins Conservation and founder of Rewilding Chile, highlighted the work that has been done with the different governments “I have never seen this as something personal. This has always been a we. This has been a story of learning together, in which we have achieved great things. Now we just have to keep learning and moving forward together: The recent meeting with President Gabriel Boric, where he expressed his intention to create a new Park at Cape Froward, as a result of our donation of 83,000 hectares on the Brunswick Peninsula and also to create a protected marine area, fills us with hope for what is to come,” she concluded.
"We are happy with the reception this film has had. It shows not only the love between two people, but also allows us to understand where Doug and Kris come from, their love for nature and the efforts they have made to conserve it. At Rewilding Chile, we continue with this legacy, working to create parks, restoring them to achieve complete ecosystems and linking communities with their protected areas along the Patagonian Parks Route. We hope to continue to count on the support of all those who have accompanied us over the years"
The documentary will be shown on March 25 at the Galpón de Parque Estación in Puerto Varas at 8 p.m. and new dates are expected for Coyhaique, Punta Arenas, as well as the premiere on Disney+ platforms on May 26.
See the official trailer of the film for the United States.