Episode 154: “The American Southwest” Elevates The Art of Storytelling In Wildlife Films

Summary

---

Rewilding Earth Podcast – Episode 154

Title: “The American Southwest” Elevates The Art of Storytelling In Wildlife Films
Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Jack Humphrey
Guest: Ryan Olinger, Wildlife Filmmaker & Conservation Biologist

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack Humphrey sits down with wildlife filmmaker and conservation biologist Ryan Olinger to discuss The American Southwest, a groundbreaking new wildlife documentary tracing the Colorado River from its headwaters to its delta. The conversation explores the art, science, and grit behind filming rare animal behaviors, the power of narrative to inspire conservation action, and the urgent hopes for the river’s future. Through candid stories from the field and behind-the-scenes insights, Olinger and Humphrey highlight the crucial nexus of science, filmmaking, and activism.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Art and Challenge of Wildlife Filmmaking

• Dedication and Biological Insight

  • Olinger emphasizes that the film was only possible thanks to years of biological fieldwork, with both himself and director Ben having research backgrounds. This allowed them to anticipate animal behavior and approach filming with deep respect and empathy for their subjects.
  • Quote: “It takes nothing but pure dedication to tell these stories... and years as biologists.” (03:26)

• Patience and Preparation

  • The film took three years to shoot, including five weeks at Rocky Mountain National Park to capture the iconic elk rut scene.
  • Even with scientific anticipation, luck remains essential: “You can put yourself in the path to be likely struck by lightning, but it doesn't guarantee the lightning is going to strike.” (07:10)
  • Olinger retells the hair-raising moment of capturing the elk fight:
    “Thirteen days go by... and I hear another call come from the other side of the valley. I am like, whoa. Something that's different... And you get one chance.” (08:25–13:18)

Memorable Moments from the Field

• The Elk Fight and Shared Experience

  • Olinger shares the exhaustive thrill and emotional depth of filming the bull elk battle, and the shock of realizing an audience of 500 had gathered behind him as he emerged from his focused crouch.
  • Quote:
    “When that fight finished, I felt like I was in a fight. I was exhausted. I was emotional... I turned around and there were over 500 people lined up on the road behind me.” (13:18, echoed from opening at 00:07)
  • Humphrey highlights how the sequence delivers an unforgettable opening to the film—one that sets a high bar for wildlife cinematography.

• Community & Artistic Camaraderie

  • On sharing the moments:
    “It's such a privilege to get to meet so many other great artists and just conservationists and naturalists in general... I got my own experience, and then also... the enjoyment of knowing all those other people got to see such a phenomenal fight.” (17:29)

The Power of Structure and Narrative

• Building Emotional Connection

  • The filmmakers intentionally lead with a breathtaking elk sequence, knowing audience attention is fleeting and wanting audiences to “put their phones down,” prompting immersion from the start. (19:41)

• Welcoming Curiosity and New Stories

  • Olinger reflects on the depth and density of stories along the Colorado—acknowledging the temptation to expand into a series, as so much remains untold.
  • Quote: “One question leads to five more and one scene or one species leads to five more scenes and ideas that are always stewing...” (22:13)

• “Down the River” Approach

  • Humphrey praises the natural narrative arc of traveling from the river’s source to its delta, connecting disparate stories and species. (23:46)

Depicting Wildlife and Human Impact

• Beavers & Water Management

  • The film provides what Humphrey calls the best depiction yet of beaver science and advocacy, skillfully juxtaposed with the gut-punch of human river control through damming.
  • Quote (Olinger):
    “Beavers do a better job than we ever will. They modify the landscape for water, for the aquifers... so much better than we do. So let's show the audience how incredible, adorable and just engineering masterminds that these beavers are... and then let's show you what we've been doing.” (24:57)

• Bringing Invertebrates to Center Stage

  • Focused storytelling makes the life cycle of the salmon fly surprisingly gripping—even for skeptical viewers.
  • Quote (Humphrey): “I never thought I'd be so caught up in the life cycle of a salmon fly. And I thought this is risky... and you guys pulled that one off too.” (26:57)
  • Olinger details the precise timing and arduous fieldwork required to catch the emergence events: “...three years in a row every single... it only lasts like a day in each part of the river...” (27:28–29:06)

• Humor and Playfulness

  • Blending education with entertainment is key for accessibility; the “baby Duckzilla” sequence is cited as an example of memorable, fun storytelling.
  • Quote (Humphrey):
    “Great job on the baby Duckzilla. I thought, holy crap, these guys know how to have fun too.” (31:05)

Human Impact, Conservation Messaging, and Hope

• Balancing Hope and Hard Truths

  • The film doesn’t shy away from the bleakness of human alterations to the river, but strives to empower rather than overwhelm.
  • Quote:
    “There's tremendous truth in how we have controlled the river. There's also even more hope of how we can let it flow, how we can coexist with it and make it just a conservation success story for all time.” (33:52)

• Actionable Outcomes

  • The filmmakers want viewers to feel inspired to take tangible steps:
    “If we let less than 1% flow annually, it would reach the delta again. And I want people to know that. I want people to think, hey, what can I do?” (33:52)

• Policy and Representation

  • Olinger points to the importance of the upcoming 2026 Colorado River interim guidelines and the need for inclusive voices—especially those of indigenous stakeholders with senior water rights. (33:52)

The Unrivaled Jaguar Sequence

• Unprecedented Footage and Collaboration

  • Capturing wild jaguars in the northern Sierra Madre took eight months of camera trapping in partnership with the Northern Jaguar Project.
  • Quote:
    “Eight months of work came down to a handful of really good days... There's a lot of jaguar footage in there and it's all camera trap stuff, and to be able to tell a story from just camera traps is a real skill.” (41:13–44:08)

• Authenticity & Credit

  • Olinger stresses the crucial behind-the-scenes work of field biologists and local NGOs without whom such footage would be impossible.
  • “Not enough credit is given to the people that are on the ground... it's important for us to highlight that.” (37:53)

• Immersive Theater Experience

  • The jaguar log scratching sequence is highlighted as a knockout moment, demanding a big screen and powerful audio for full impact.
  • Memorable exchange (45:19–46:25):
    • Humphrey: “I want to hear that with some seriously powerful speakers.”
    • Olinger: “Absolutely... you can see their reflection in their eye. I mean, it's... it's a very funny... I think you might have scratched the lens there. That is incredible.”

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Emotional Investment

  • “When that fight finished, I felt like I was in a fight. I was exhausted. I was emotional... You spend weeks with an animal and see how things play out. And it's something that I will never forget.”
    — Ryan Olinger, (13:18 / 00:07 and 13:18)

• On Dedication and Hope

  • “It all comes down to just that serious, serious dedication of telling this story to the best of our ability.”
    — Ryan Olinger (03:26)

• On Storytelling Strategy

  • “You have to have something strong in the beginning to make people put their phones down, to make people, you know, keep focus and to keep listening to what you're trying to express...”
    — Ryan Olinger (19:41)

• On Beavers vs. Human Engineering

  • “Beavers do a better job than we ever will... It allows us to not have to make the statement 'beavers are good, man-made dams are bad.' ...It allows you to think about it more... beavers are incredible.”
    — Olinger (24:57)

• On the Impact of the Colorado Story

  • “It blew my mind that I haven't really engaged with this story in a long time..."
    — Jack Humphrey (32:25)

• On Capturing Jaguars

  • “Every single shot we got was only possible because of the Northern Jaguar Project and the work that they've been doing and the camera trapping they've been doing down there... to capture some incredibly intimate moments and incredibly close shots of jaguars and show them in a way, in the wild.”
    — Olinger (37:53)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• Opening Elk Fight Story: 00:07–01:33 and 07:33–13:18
• Making of the Elk Fight Sequence: 07:33–16:26
• Beavers and Water Science: 23:46–26:57
• Salmon Fly Sequence: 26:57–31:05
• Humor & Entertainment (“Baby Duckzilla”): 31:05–32:25
• Human Impact, Hope, and Call to Action: 32:25–36:54
• Jaguar Filmmaking Journey: 36:54–47:11
• Theatrical Release & Distribution Details: 47:36–51:30

---

How to Watch & Get Involved

• Theatrical Run:

  • The American Southwest opens in 70–75 theaters across the Southwest US from September 5, 2025, for one to two weeks.
  • Meant to be experienced on the big screen, with immersive visuals and sound.
  • “It is incredibly rare... to have an independent film company have a wildlife documentary go to theaters.” (47:36)

• Streaming Release:

  • Available mid-October 2025 on several platforms in the US and abroad. Details forthcoming.

• Engagement and Action:

  • Audiences can sign up at theamericansouthwestfilm.com to find theaters, check for special screenings and Q&As, and participate in conservation advocacy (in partnership with American Rivers).

---

Closing & Next Steps

The episode wraps on a note of mutual enthusiasm, with both Humphrey and Olinger promising more in-depth follow-up conversations, suggestions for future projects (and a possible “American Southwest 2”), and a shared belief in the power of storytelling to drive real-world conservation victories.

---

For more information, showtimes, and to take action:
Visit theamericansouthwestfilm.com and rewilding.org/pod/episode-154

---

Transcript

[Ryan Olinger]

To be able to see this bull elk that's worked so hard for weeks fight for what he's had. When that fight finished, I felt like I was in a fight. I was exhausted. I was emotional. I was. And people say like, oh, you should never get emotional with what no way. You spend weeks with an animal and see how things play out. And it's something that I will never forget. And I remember it finally ended and I hit stop and I stood up because I was actually crouched the whole time filming, which squat for three and a half minutes. And I turned around and there were over 500 people lined up on the road. Foreign.

[Jack Humphrey]

You'Re listening to the Rewilding Earth podcast. I'm your host, Jack Humphrey. I recently had the honor of speaking with wildlife filmmaker and conservation biologist Ryan Olinger about his new film, opening today, September 5, 2025, in select theaters. It's called the American Southwest and it takes us from the headwaters to the delta of the Colorado river. And it is a thrilling journey, a perfect balance of wildlife storytelling intertwined with the story of human impacts of dams and water diversion projects on the Colorado and how it impacts all species in the Colorado Basin who depend on us, leaving something for them to survive and thrive. If you're listening on itunes, Spotify or another podcatcher, be sure to stop by rewilding.org pod episode 154 to get show times, watch the trailer and to check out some amazing still shots and Q and a from the film. Ryan, welcome to the Rewilding Earth podcast.

[Ryan Olinger]

Good morning. Thanks for having me. Honored to be here.

[Jack Humphrey]

You guys have really done a masterful job of storytelling here. I want to know what it's like to put something like this together as someone and I know a lot of our listeners are the same way, who look, you know, growing up on Planet Earth and David Attenboroughs and all the Nat Geo stuff, I bring this all up because this is the world class level that I find your documentary here to be. Some of the shots are so as they are in these things that really blow your mind, like the reflection of the bull elk's antlers in a passing stream. You can't tell a bull elk anything.

[Ryan Olinger]

No say, go back up.

[Jack Humphrey]

I didn't get that shot. And a million other things. What the heck is it life to be you guys? And what does it take to get shots and put something like this together?

[Ryan Olinger]

Oh, man, you're. I'm loving these compliments. It's very, very kind of you. What it takes is nothing but pure Dedication to the storytelling craft as well as to capturing the visuals to give you a bit of background also. And I think this is where some of the shots in the film stand out a bit. Ben, who's the writer and director for the film, he's got a background in biology. I'm the director of photography and a producer for the film, and I have a background in wildlife biology. I actually did my undergrad in conservation biology from the University of Arizona and then went off and worked all over the west as well as abroad, and did a master's degree in conservation biology. And so the reason why I say that is I've spent a long time watching animals, understanding their behavior, and that helps you plan out what might happen next, where your subject might show up, Are they relaxed? Are they stressed? Can you get closer? Do you need to back up? All those things come from really spending time in their environments amongst the subject you're trying to film. And, you know, you said it, you said it right. So many people struggle with that concept of you. You can't tell a bull elk to walk the same line twice, especially when he's got a harem, a 60 elk he's trying to. Trying to control. And so much of that is just being ready and preparing as much as possible. So, for instance, that elk scene, you know, we spent five weeks there just to shoot that one scene. The whole entire film took us three years, pretty much two and a half years of filming and multiple trips to the same location and weeks on end in the field, which, you know, I love. That's my happy place. Much more than behind the computer. I prefer to be behind the camera. And so it takes nothing but pure dedication to tell these stories. And you also have to tell them, you know, if you really want to tell them. Right. It comes from a place of respect, and that's from how you approach your subject to the story you want to tell and how you tell it. So it is years of preparation, years as biologists and also working with incredible biologists that help you form these stories. There's not a single story that we wrote in this film that didn't have a biologist in that field or an expert in that field provide their feedback and commentary, their expertise, I should say. And so it's absolutely 100% a team effort of storytellers and scientists and NGOs alike, and that's how you tell a story like this. That's so complicated. I never thought I would learn so much about water management, about water policy, as well as the intricacies and the power of a female Mojave rattlesnake and how they're the ones in charge and being able to tell that story. There's so much I've learned in making this film, but all of it comes down to just that serious, serious dedication of telling this story to the best of our ability.

[Jack Humphrey]

Does it sometimes freak you out that after all that preparation, all those return visits and doing everything you can as a biologist to anticipate everything, that a lot of it still comes down to luck? Like you, you can put yourself in the path to be likely struck by lightning, but it doesn't guarantee the lightning is going to strike.

[Ryan Olinger]

Absolutely. You stress about that, you know, the. For instance, the back to the elk scene, like, we didn't get. We spent five weeks there and I didn't get that elk fight scene done. Like, really the fight itself shot until the second to last day.

[Jack Humphrey]

That was you?

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah.

[Jack Humphrey]

Wow, dude, that. I was gonna bring that up later, but that was the best. I. I'm gonna sound like such a freaking nature show geek, but that was the best elk fight I have ever seen on film. That was incredible.

[Ryan Olinger]

Wow. Thank you.

[Jack Humphrey]

Just longer than most people can get that shot.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah.

[Jack Humphrey]

And I mean, from. I haven't seen everything out there, but I'm pretty darn sure that this is an award winning shot right there. That was incredible, man.

[Ryan Olinger]

Thank you. That's. That's very kind of you, but let's jump into it then. So that, as I said, we spent about five weeks in Rocky Mountain. We actually had our whole crew there. It was like, all right, let's kick this film off. We had about five shooters total with us. We were brainstorming about the story. Our main focus being there was to capture the elk. Ruth. And after about two and a half weeks, you know, the other half of the crew split off and had to go about their other things and, you know, starting to work in other stories and stuff like that and other projects. But, you know, I stuck around with another shooter for another 10 or 12 days and got really dialed with this bull elk called pretty Boy and happened to find him every single day and would be out at dark, parked up with the windows cracked, listening to the calls and figuring out, all right, once it starts getting a little bit light, we're going to hike that way because that's probably where he's going to be. We keep hearing him come from that way. And so for two weeks, I did this every day from before sunrise to after sunset. Spent the whole day with them. Thirteen days go by. And I'm in the valley. It's a quiet morning, nobody's around, and I'm just watching pretty boy. And I hear another call come from the other side of the valley. And I am like, whoa. Like, I'm getting. It's. I hate when people say this, but I'm getting goosebumps right now. Think re. Re. Reliving it. And I hear a call come from the other side of the valley. And I'm like, whoa. Something that's different. That's a different call that I have not heard yet. That's a different bugle that sounds deeper. It's. It's just. There's something about it. And I pull my binos up, I'm all set. And then that's one thing with wildlife. You always have to be ready. I don't care if you've been sitting there for five days in a hide, freezing cold temperatures or extremely hot, whatever it is, you have to be ready always, because you get one chance. And so I'm prepped and I immediately just get this sense of there's something going on here. I take my jacket off, I get ready, I double check. Everything's good on the camera. You know, the trigger's working, everything. The trigger to hit, start and stop recording. And pretty boy, who's this, you know, bull elk as well, also gets tense and locks eyes with this other bull elk from across the valley. And you can see he starts getting anxious and nervous and he starts trying to round up his harem a bit more and remind you I'm in this valley all by myself. Like it's a major valley in. In Rocky Mountain. It's the best place to see them. And I probably saw two cars that morning. But I'm just off, you know, tucked down a little bit lower in the edge of the valley, the edge of the meadow, I should say. And all of a sudden, this other bullock basically comes charging across probably from 200 yards away. And once I see this bull elk trotting straight ahead, I knew it was going to happen. And you can't then get nervous, you can't then panic. You have to switch into a different mode of pure focus and going over everything you've ever learned on how to operate a long lens. And it all has to just be natural for you to be able to capture something like that. And sure enough, that bull came right across. I was rolling the second I saw him pick up speed and was just zoomed all the way in and kept zooming out and out and out as he got Closer and just using that lens. So I shot that all on a CN20 or 50 to 1000. And the thing with the elk ruts, you don't know how long they're going to last. A lot of them only last 30 seconds. Yeah, you know, it's quick. It's. Whoa. You are a lot stronger than I thought. Or like, this guy's got nothing. And I'm. Get out of here. I'm taking your harem, man. It lasted to me, you know, after five weeks of being there and two weeks of following those bull elk, it felt like it lasted an eternity. In reality, it lasted three, three and a half minutes or something, which is also an incredibly long time for.

[Jack Humphrey]

It's an eternity for this. Yeah.

[Ryan Olinger]

Oh, man. And so it allowed me the time. And if. I mean, if you watch the full. The full fight, you know, as it plays out from what, one single shot. I mean, they are going at it the entire time. It's incredible, the sheer power of these elk and what they're fighting for. I mean, they're. They're fighting for their lineage, they're fighting for their. Their future, for their bloodline. And you can see it. And I don't want to give away the end, but I will say, in moments like that, you get to be a part of something so special to be able to capture that, to be able to see this bull elk that's worked so hard for weeks fight for what he's had. When that fight finished, I. I felt like I was in a fight. I was exhausted. I was emotional. I was. And. And people say, like, oh, you should never get emotional with w. No way. You spend weeks with an animal and see how things play out. And it's something that I will never forget. And I. I remember. I. It. They. It finally ended, and I hit stop, and I stood up because I was actually crouched the whole time filming, which squat for three and a half minutes. And I turned around, and there were over 500 people lined up on the road behind me. I was so focused, and that's what it takes, and it's what you have to do. I was so focused to get that shot to kick this film off, right? To get this. The whole shooting style and strength of the film visually locked in that I did not hear a single car. I did not hear a single person. I didn't know all those people had showed up in that three and a half minutes. And it was cool because not only did I get to experience that in a way that felt so intimate, but so many of the people that are in that valley at that time have seen us filming all over the park and knew what we were there for. And so many people came out and were like, oh my gosh, that was incredible. Did you get it? That's amazing. And on for the next couple days of just people being like, I heard you got the shot. And it was this amazing experience to have personally, but also with a group of people and it, and that's how we want the film to be experienced, is amongst a group of people and to be able to share that experience of these places. And, and I'll, I will never forget the elk rut. I will. I'm really honored you said that and you, you shared your, your, your thoughts on that and we got to talk about it because it's just, it was really an incredible experience and I can't think of a better way to kick off a three year long project than successfully filming an elk rut.

[Jack Humphrey]

I, I was going to say, among many, many, many things, I'd love to say we just don't have time. But I think I will say this must be sad. In moments where you are really all alone and you get a shot like that and you know, you just did a once in a lifetime thing and you've got no one there to high five. What do you do with all the. I mean, I know you're exhausted, but I know you also have an adrenaline rush that's like nothing, you know, you can experience otherwise. And it's like, well, wait. And then you said there's 500 people. You got that high five if you wanted to. 500 people.

[Ryan Olinger]

And also we did high fives.

[Jack Humphrey]

And I was also thinking about somebody making a film of you making a film. And there. And the shot is on you being so focused and then it pans and all of a sudden 500 people appear and they all start clapping. I mean, seriously, it's like you guys almost have to do two things. You have to make two shows.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yes.

[Jack Humphrey]

I think, because I would be in the theater for that too.

[Ryan Olinger]

I love those behind the scenes. People don't realize how difficult it is to, to tell these stories and to capture the shots that are captured as wildlife filmmakers. And with that one in particular, like, it was so cool to experience that with, with such a large group of people and other amazing photographers that are there. You know, people go to Rocky Mountain every single fall to see the rut and to photograph the elk and the changing colors and all that kind of stuff. And it's an, it's Such a privilege to get to meet so many other great artists and just conservationists and naturalists in general, and definitely being able to share that with something really cool, because I got the best of both worlds there. I got my own experience, and then also the effort and the enjoyment of knowing that all those other people got to see such a phenomenal, phenomenal fight.

[Jack Humphrey]

And this was just the beginning. I mean, literally, it's just the beginning.

[Ryan Olinger]

It's just the beginning of the film. It was just the beginning of the. Of the shooting process. So many times with films, you're starting with what's in season. What's happening right now is. Is it. Are the saguaros flowering? Is the. Is it. Did we. You know, is the rattlesnake. Is there a pregnant rattlesnake? Is the. Are the salmon flies getting ready to emerge? You know, how are the beavers behaving? Are they comfortable? You know, so many things come down to, like, the seasons and timing and everything just worked out where our first shoot was going to be, that it also happened to be the first scene in the film. It also happened to be at the headwaters of the start of the film. So, like, it really was a great. A great start to have there.

[Jack Humphrey]

And lest anyone think it's dangerous to lead with such an impactful opener, you know, like, you guys have already shot. How could it be? How could the rest of the film stand up to this? Like, this is like a finale, and you put it right in the front, which gave me hope, because I'm like, surely they're not just going to go downhill from here. But I have no idea how they're going to keep it up. Like, you set a bar for this thing, and I. I will spoil it a little bit. You kept it up.

[Ryan Olinger]

Thank you. No, that's. That's very kind of you. I think especially the way our attentions work these days. You have to have something strong in the beginning to make people put their phones down, to make people, you know, keep focus and to keep listening to what you're trying to express, what you're trying to tell. And with this film, you know, the. The rut is not only a highlight of conservation working, also the struggles of wildlife, but it's. It's. As you said, it's. It's just the beginning. I mean, the Colorado river system is stunning. The entire system, the entire basin, not the upper and lower, which is something that we need to just get out of our vernacular. We need to stop calling it two different basins. It's one basin. It's incredible. The wildlife there, the creeks, the canyons, the former delta. I mean, there's so much that in the making of this film I kept going, you know, as someone who's a trained scientist with 10 years of, of experience, I wanted to make it a five part series. I wanted to make it, you know, I want to make American Southwest 2. I want to make more stories about this region because it's just incredible. And you know, in this film we have roughly seven wildlife sequences and four hydrology sections. And it's a long journey down the river. Just, I mean, that's what the river is. It's a long journey to begin with. And I want, I hope people at least leave wanting more also and knowing that, you know, we kick it off strong, but we finish it strong too. And there's a lot of power in between.

[Jack Humphrey]

The bigness of this is something that I, I imagine, you know, you've alluded to here so far, but I think you're good for a franchise because you literally focused on like seven species. I mean, it feels immense. And when you look back on it, like the dissections were like, wait a minute, I can count those almost on one hand. And I know that there's at least five or six other species in this region. And, and as well there's a huge number of hydrology and you know, the human impact and it's just as immense. So I think you're good for, you know, 12 seasons at least.

[Ryan Olinger]

Well, look, that's, that's what happens too. When you're curious and you're obsessive. One question leads to five more and one scene or one species leads to five more scenes and ideas that are always stewing, stewing in the head. I can't help but be in these places or around these species and think about story constantly. I mean, it's an obsession, the way storytellers, filmmakers, and I'll speak for myself just if I see or I learn a fact about an animal, I immediately think, how can I, other than having someone read this chapter in the middle of a book on rattlesnakes, how can I show them this so that they feel it, they understand it and they maybe think differently about that species now, or they, you know, question how the rivers manage as the hole or things like that. And, and it comes through like tying all that together. So I'm all for making more of these. I mean, this is my career. I'm not going to stop making wildlife films ever. It's an incredible honor to be able to tell These stories. And I want to, want to keep doing that. And who knows, maybe there'll be an ASW2 or a spin off or a, A dive in television series which, you know, we can work our way down the river again. And each episode's a different section or species or whatever. Let's see. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna not let that go out into the universe of possibilities.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, I, I like the down the river concept. It's natural. I don't know how you could do it differently and have the same impact, but when you focus on a species, when you got to beavers, and fans of the show know I'm a beaver fanatic. So you have to know when that started. I'm like, oh boy, here we go. And that's right after that. That's right after the fight scene. So I'm thinking, okay, well, let's see what we're going to do with the beavers here, because I'd like them to just be the whole show. It was awesome. And then you hit us with a human segment and water diversion and dams and. God, it's such a gut punch to go from one to the other knowing what you're about to say. You can put the images up and we're pretty much going to know what you're about to say. Even though you do say brand new things. I've never heard before about it. It's masterful. I love that way of telling this story and that's why I think this is going to be a really big success.

[Ryan Olinger]

Well, thank you. That's, you know, great to hear, especially some from someone who loves beavers, that you learned something new and, you know, I definitely think we showcase them in a different light that people haven't really seen.

[Jack Humphrey]

Well, it's a storytelling.

[Ryan Olinger]

Exactly, exactly. And I think, I think give credit where credit's due. I mean, I personally, I think the End of Beaver is some of the best writing in the film, like just the way it hits. I think Ben did a great job on that. I mean, I remember watching like one of the early rough cuts and I was like, don't change anything that sings. The End of Beaver got me so excited because it's. Look, we love as a species to try and control the natural world. Beavers do a better job than we ever will. I mean, they modify the landscape for water, for the aquifers, for everything so much better than we do. So let's show the audience how incredible, adorable and just engineering masterminds that these beavers are and then let's show you what we're doing and what we've been doing and then let you come to that conclusion on your own of like, whoa. So you're telling me that if we put beavers into a landscape, we, they are going to slow down the water, they're going to spread it across the valley, refill aquifer, purify our water, create these natural fire breaks which the west is always on fire these days, and then show you what, how we do it and what happens when we build a dam and we stop all the water and we stop the sedimentation and we stop all of that and just control it. It allows us to not have to make the statement beavers are good, man made, dams are bad and everything has a purpose. But it allows you to kind of come to that conclusion on your own and allows you to think about it more of like, whoa, beavers are incredible. And Jack, we're only on scene two, bud. We got seven.

[Jack Humphrey]

I know, I know. To speed things up, I'll just say I never thought I'd be so caught up in the life cycle of a salmon fly. And I thought this is risky because people have different reaction to underwater and overwater bugs than they do elk and beavers. And you guys pulled that one off too. I couldn't believe how I was leaning in on that. So that's crazy. And you guys must have realized that this could be a risk for sure.

[Ryan Olinger]

I mean, it comes back to the characters you meet too, you know, in the making of this process. Like I, you know, our previous film, Deep in the Heart, we had this really powerful scene in Bracken Cave with the bats and snakes. And halfway through you're rooting for the bats, you know, and, and it's this like mental shift of your, your perception on a species. And with the salmon flies, that's what you know, we wanted to do again is, you know, so much of that filming. So that took to give you an idea. I went back there three years in a row every single. And it only lasts the salmon fly emergence. This is what's crazy for people to understand it only lasts like a day in each part of the river and moves upstream because the water, they, the temperature of the water needs to hit us like 55 degrees. I can't remember what it is exactly for them to actually start their emergence and leave the water and shed their exuvia and take flight. And so you have so little time to tell that story and to tell it right. But along the way of making it, you Know that first year we went out and we had an incredible emergence. It was just myself and another shooter, Patrick Thrash, who did an incredible job contributing to this film as well. And you know, we were like, oh my God, this is incredible. This is like, this is like the passenger pigeons blocking out the sky. Like we had such a great emergence that first year and then each year after that was kind of terrible. But because we were able to capture it right the first time and that first season, you know, we went out with this Colorado biologist Dan Kowalski, who has been studying aquatic insects for I don't know, 15 years now and nerded out so hard with him that I was like, oh man, this guy, the way he sees the bugs, the way that the salmon flies are absolutely a symbol of a healthy flowing river. We're going to dive all the way into this.

[Jack Humphrey]

I'm glad you did.

[Ryan Olinger]

Thank you. No, and so am I. I mean that's, I love that stuff. I'm a scientist, I'm a naturalist. You know, I love to get into the nitty gritty of, you know, how does that animal do that? What are the, what's the relationship it has with the rest of the environment? How do the other species in that habitat depend on that species or don't depend on that species? And just the connectivity of it all? Because everything is connected. The river is connected from the headwaters to the sea and the salmon flies are connected to the entire riparian habitat around them. I mean they, they give the largest influx of carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen into the entire riparian system. More than any other species. Single handedly. It is all from like a one day emergence. I mean it's incredible. It's. They're so cool. And again it's. Here's a unique species, you know, we're going to show you its natural history, how it changes, how it transforms. But also we want you to not just be educated, but entertained. And we have a fun play with, you know, the, the downward struggle and the battles of walking on ground and, and the music cues in that are great and so much incredible.

[Jack Humphrey]

Dude. Oh man. And I've been trying to figure out a way all morning to say something about that without giving anything away. And so all I will say is great job on the baby Duckzilla. I thought, holy crap, these guys know how to have fun too.

[Ryan Olinger]

This is so cool.

[Jack Humphrey]

You're just hitting all the buttons.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah, we definitely wrote that as like a Jurassic park water, you know, with the footprints.

[Jack Humphrey]

What's coming, what's coming. It was just great.

[Ryan Olinger]

Awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah. And. And I mean, it goes back to. You can't make wildlife films that aren't entertaining if you're also trying to educate. And you have to have both. And who, like, I love to watch films and documentaries and read scientific journals that are just, for the most part, dry and just. Natural history. Natural history. Natural history. But that's not for everybody. And if you want other people to love this region and love the wildlife that it obtains, you also need to entertain. And. And we definitely put all our hats on to try and. And make that work. And. And Ben did a great job with some of the script there on that.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, I thought that was really cool. So, you know, you guys didn't do this for nothing. There's a reason and a purpose behind this, and it's a very good one. It's a story that I think, as I was watching, I'm wondering about myself and how much I have exposed myself to the Colorado story and the plight of the river, literally, at the end, and protect myself maybe from that story and telling myself that story too many times, because it can be wildly depressing. I mean, just it. I don't know how many other ways. I'm sure there are lots, and I'm sure you know, of many of them. But this has got to be right up there in the stark contrast with wild nature and what humans have done for their own self interest. And the result of that, it's just. It blew my mind that I. I haven't really engaged with this story in a long time. And I think one of the reasons is because it's. It's tough to handle for me, and I go on to other things. I feel like I can make some kind of a difference in, you know, like, quickly, like today, can I go sign something or give some money or I gotta do something now? Because that. It almost feels too big. But you guys bring it down to something that, once again, I don't want to spoil anything, but you're crazy if you don't think Hope's going to be involved in this kind of a film. It is. And I came away, nonetheless, feeling hopeful.

[Ryan Olinger]

Wow, that's so great to hear. It's, you know, it's a. It's a kick. The end of the film is a. Is a kick to the gut for sure. And the story as a whole, there's lots of times where it's like, man, this is rough. And to give you that personal perspective, you know, starting the film, filming it in. In the headwaters and in Rocky Mountain and spending years, you know, moving down the river and jumping ahead and heading back up and all that kind of stuff. You know, the first time I visited the delta, you know, I. I teared up. It's incredibly emotional to see what's happened to it. I mean, I remember reading Green Lagoons as an undergrad and hearing what the delta used to be. You know, jaguars used to roam there, flocks of birds would fly over and block out the sky, and you couldn't, you know, what was it like? You could get lost in the green lagoons forever and never find your way out. That. That is hard as a. As a storyteller to experience. And, yes, there's tremendous truth in how we have controlled the river. There's also even more hope of how we can let it flow, how we can coexist with it and make it just a conservation success story for all time. And I hope that. You know, I'm glad you. I'm glad to hear that you left hopeful because that's the messaging we want. We want people to know what's going on. So in 2026, there, the interim guidelines of how the Colorado Rivers manage comes back to vote. And basically it defines how shortages are shared throughout the river. And the river is not the same river it was when the Colorado River Compact was first created over 100 years ago. And so we have to acknowledge that we also have to bring indigenous voices to the table as well. It's something that people don't realize. They have senior water rights. They have the right to be at the table more than anyone and should be included. And the climate's changing and. And we just keep controlling that river, but we have the power to restore it, you know, is if. If we let less than 1% flow annually, it would reach the delta again. And I want people to know that. I want people to think, hey, what can I do? I've just watched this hour and a half long film. I have fallen in love with this region. What can I do to keep it some of the things the way it is and change the things I don't like about it, but that's. I'm glad you left on a hopeful note, despite how you probably felt five minutes before the end.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, I was going to also touch on one other species. It's really, really important to us here, and it gave me a lot of hope, but also for the next generation of filmmakers, because I think, probably, if I had to guess, one of the hardest things to shoot here was the jaguars. It has to be really really, really, really, really difficult to do that. And it's very hard to incorporate them in any kind of project like this. For that reason, I would imagine.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah. Add a couple more really, really reallys onto that before you. So the jaguar scene took eight months. Myself, Ben and Austin Alvarado, probably the best camera trapper in the world. The guy's an animal. I, the stuff he can produce is incredible.

[Jack Humphrey]

I was sitting here thinking, that's a camera trap. That's got to be a camera trap.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah. It's in color, it's in focus, there's.

[Jack Humphrey]

No schmuck on the lens.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jack Humphrey]

Nobody came up and licked it the night before. This is.

[Ryan Olinger]

Oh no, they did. Oh no, they did. They did. Yeah. So, I mean, we've been camera trapping fin and fur for 10 plus years now. And when you are out in the wild like that, everybody wants to either ignore or interact with your camera. And by everybody, I'm talking to wildlife. Bears love camera traps. If you set a camera trap where bears are, the first five times they see it, they're going to pick that thing up and move it, they're going to step on it, they're going to pee on, they're going to do whatever they want to that camera trap because they're just curious and they're interested. Jaguars, which, let's take a step back. We filmed all the jaguar stuff on the Northern Jaguar reserve in northern Mexico. And every single shot we got was only possible because of the Northern Jaguar project and the work that they've been doing and the camera trapping they've been doing down there. And I want to take a step back and say that because as a wildlife biologist turned wildlife filmmaker, I've seen it firsthand. I've hosted and guided filmmakers in the past before I switched into film in Africa and things like that. And not enough credit is given to the people that are on the ground, the conservationists, the biologists, the NGO groups that do this day in and day out dedicate their lives or fighting for grants constantly for, to, for a species or a region. And it's important for us to highlight that they've been camera trapping in that area. I forgot, for how many years now? 15, 20 years?

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, long time.

[Ryan Olinger]

And so they were able to, you know, we were able to piggyback off of that work and find the best areas to set camera traps and to work with the biologists who were there, you know, weekend every day for years. Some of them, their entire lives have been living in the nearest town and driving into the reserve and so because of that collaboration, we were able to capture some incredibly intimate moments and incredibly close shots of jaguars and show them in a way, in the wild. I think people watch that scene and they're going to be like, oh, that has to be done in the zoo. And it's like, oh, buddy. A seven hour drive on a two track road over multiple mountain ranges in the Sierra Madres in northern Mexico just to get to the first camp and then it's hours of hiking and we're carrying camera traps, triggers, tripods, batteries, we're talking 50, 60 pounds of gear making noise to get back into all these areas. I mean, this is jaguar country, this is their territory. To get footage and the quality of footage that's just never been captured in Mexico before. And I think some of the best, if not the best jaguar footage ever captured.

[Jack Humphrey]

Oh, I mean, I, I just think about the pride in knowing that with this effort you've radically increased the frames of footage and you have to, you know, do it in seconds. And frames of jaguars that, that humanity has.

[Ryan Olinger]

Absolutely. Especially in that region.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah.

[Ryan Olinger]

You know, there's so, so much happening around our borders around northern Mexico and the southern US and to know that this apex predator of the Americas, this God of the sky islands, is still roaming and has the potential to come north, hopefully still has, that is just incredible. And, and you know that for four months we watched our camera traps get walked around because jaguars don't want to be seen. There's, it's, there's such a different animal than a mountain lion, than a bobcat. We film mountain lions all over the country and you get them laying down in front of the camera and you'll get them coming up and smell in the front of the camera and all this kind of stuff and they just interact so different. We, when we set camera traps, we typically set our main cameras that, let's just call them like our high end cameras. Each one of them is expensive and it's because they shoot in really high quality and all that stuff. But things go wrong all the time. Camera trapping, you get false triggers, meaning the cameras turn on and off because a butterfly flies in front of the trigger or something like that, or a variety of reasons, or batteries drain for some reason or water gets in who, who knows and throw. And so as a backup, we set up other cameras that are just like lower end cameras, like Brownings, just your basic camera traps. You can buy it, you know, a sporting goods store just to make sure things are working and functioning properly. And so the first two Weeks were there. We set up our first set of cameras. We come back 10 days later and El Guapo already walked through. And so we checked the first Browning camera and we're like, oh my gosh, we gotta hit a jaguar came through. And I'm talking on our regular cameras. Saw him walk right by. We're like, amazing. We're so excited. We run it to check our high end cameras. Not a shot. Oh, for four months. For four months, those jaguars would hit our low end cameras. See the big cameras, smell the big cameras and turn around or go around. They would go up a little ridge, around, and then drop back down into the wash. You can see their footprints. They'd come up to before where the trigger was. They'd stop, they'd go around three feet. And that's all it takes. All you have to do is move one or two feet sometimes to get out of where the triggers are going to where the cameras are going to turn on. Or you walk completely out of frame. Once you hit the trigger, they might go, oh, there's two big boxes there. I've lived my entire life in this canyon. I know this territory better than anybody. I just don't feel comfortable walking there. So I'm going to walk right around this tripod behind the camera. And that happened for four months. And to be able to pull it off, it goes back to that hard headedness of, all right, just gotta keep resetting, gotta keep trying, gotta keep reframing, gotta keep resetting batteries, resetting memory cards, going through all that footage, making sure everything's working again and again and again. And really eight months of work came down to a handful of really good days. And then some really incredible editing from Sam Klatt and great storytelling from Ben on that. I mean, that scene. There's a lot of jaguar footage in there and it's all camera trap stuff. And to be able to tell a story from just camera traps is a real skill. And I have to give credit to Ben with the writing and Sam with the editing because it's just awesome. People get so pumped with that scene. Rightfully, I mean, they're an incredibly powerful and beautiful animal. And you have to go see that on the big screen to experience it really and properly and to hear the scratches and all.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, I was gonna say that log scene or those two log scenes.

[Ryan Olinger]

I really.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah, I want to hear that with some seriously powerful speakers.

[Ryan Olinger]

Absolutely. And again, that is the Northern Jaguar project. And the biologists there going, we don't know what it is, but they love Palm trees. So every single palm tree we'd come across in these washes in. In the jaguar reserve, you know, is like, is this a good one? You think they're gonna scratch and checking it and seeing, oh, somebody scratched this. Could be a mountain lion, could be a bobcat. Looks like a jaguar, though, or what? You know, and. And just make that scene happen because it allows.

[Jack Humphrey]

It looks like it feels good. I mean, exactly. There's got to be a tactile reason 100. I'm gonna. I'm gonna stake my whole reputation on that. That's what it is. Because if you see their face while they're doing it.

[Ryan Olinger]

Oh, yeah.

[Jack Humphrey]

There's no mistake in that face.

[Ryan Olinger]

Which, Jack, let's be real. You definitely see their face when. When they're scratching. That log from the footage we got, it's incredible.

[Jack Humphrey]

Well, I should have said, yeah. Oh, yeah. By the way, you can see their face.

[Ryan Olinger]

You can see their reflection in their eye. I mean, it's. It's. It's a very funny. Like, you know, we. We got some selects from that, and it was like, do you think we can get tighter? And then the next selects that Austin got, we were like, okay, I think you might have scratched the lens there. That is incredible. Yeah, he could get tighter, and he definitely did. It was. It was incredible. Absolutely stunning. Camera trap footage.

[Jack Humphrey]

Yeah. For the people, even I think lay people are going to understand you cannot just walk up in the jungle somewhere in the desert and just get shots like this. I think it's going to be pretty darn obvious. But for the people who've seen every frame of any footage that's ever been taken of jaguars, you guys are going to lose it. You're going to lose it.

[Ryan Olinger]

So I appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah, I'll let Austin know, too.

[Jack Humphrey]

I don't think there's really any more that we would really have to say. I think our excitement here is pretty palpable, except that you guys. This hasn't been released yet. Can you tell us all about. Now that everybody's all rubbing their hands together? When can I see this? Let them. Let's let them know.

[Ryan Olinger]

This film is coming out in theaters September 5th. It's going to be in about 70, 75 theaters across the Southwest. We wanted to hit every major city that depends on the Colorado river, so about seven states as well. It's going to be in theaters for one or two weeks. And from the way we shot it to the way the sound was designed and the way it was framed, it is meant to Be experienced in theaters, on the biggest possible screen around a group of strangers, and just absolutely go on a journey from the headwaters to the delta. And I hope that's how people experience it. I hope people can go see this in theaters and support. You know, we are an independent film company. It is incredibly rare a to have an independent film go to the theatrical release. It's even more rare to have an independent film company have a wildlife documentary go to theaters. And so if we almost like, did you.

[Jack Humphrey]

Did you have to hide the fact? Did you say, we've got this really good political documentary and then you're like, no jaguars.

[Ryan Olinger]

Exactly.

[Jack Humphrey]

It's actually a political documentary.

[Ryan Olinger]

If you look at it 100%, yeah. You can look at this film as a wildlife documentary, as a call to action, as a little bit of a political film, and all of the above. And. And I. And that's because we wanted it to be both entertaining and educational. And it's because the Colorado river is in crisis. A year after year, we hear this. I really hope people can get to experience it on the big screen. Check. If you head to the American Southwest film, you can see all the theaters we're playing in. Check with your local theaters. If they don't have it, ask them, you know, we'll get it in. We really, really want people to see this on the big screens. If anything, it's just to show you what's possible for wildlife documentaries and being able to have political messaging, educational messaging, and make it entertaining. And to get that on the big screen. It's unique. And if it works, we can have more of this. We can have more storytellers coming to the front and speaking up about all the issues that they are experiencing, the wild places that are experiencing and putting on the big screen the way we want it to be experienced someone in.

[Jack Humphrey]

Maine or someone in Toronto, Their heart just sunk when you said that it's in the Southwest among a choice number of theaters.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yes.

[Jack Humphrey]

Do you have any words of consolation for them or of encouragement?

[Ryan Olinger]

So it will be available streaming around mid October, and you'll be able to see it on several platforms in the US and abroad. The exact platforms and the exact date haven't been released yet, but you will be able to see this streaming. And for those of you that aren't in the Southwest, I apologize that we can't get it onto every big screen, but we are having special screenings around the country where we'll be doing Q and A's as well. So I do encourage you to visit the AmericanSouthwest film. You'll see the theaters, you'll see the special screenings. At minimum. At minimum, you can sign up for our call to action, which will take you to our page with American Rivers, which is our primary conservation partners, and show you how you can speak up for the river and how you can reach out to your representatives directly and let them know that this is important to you how we manage the Colorado River.

[Jack Humphrey]

Ryan, I have so many more questions. You, you wouldn't believe it. One of them. And don't answer it because it probably would take an hour. One of them is like, how do elk know to wait for the right, most perfect lighting to have their fight? Like, how do they know that? I mean, you took a lot of credit for that shot, but I have to say that elk has really good timing.

[Ryan Olinger]

Yeah. Yeah, that, that goes back to how this started. Luck's involved too.

[Jack Humphrey]

Well, I really do hope that you. I know that you will because I can tell that you are one of those hyper obsessed people that has grabbed onto something that you're not going to let go of for your whole life. And so great for us because we have a lot more of this kind of stuff ahead of us because of people like you and a huge, huge crew. I was just looking through, I think it was IMDb or something, someplace that was just giving all the credits and the number of people, the caliber of people, it starts to make sense why this is so good. When you start to see the people and their backgrounds, the pedigrees here. This is like, how did you do this? How did you pull all these people together? More and more questions I will have. So you will have to come back and maybe we can talk again about how all this was received or new projects that you have. But definitely I had a blast today and thank you so, so much for coming and making the time to be here.

[Ryan Olinger]

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Let's do a part two when we're about to release it on streaming.

[Jack Humphrey]

Awesome. Perfect. Thanks for listening to the Rewilding Earth podcast. We do what we do because of you. This podcast is supported by listeners like you, who long to live in a wilder world. Please consider the [e-mail] and subscribe to our weekly news and article digest. While you're there to go the extra mile, you can follow and share Rewilding Earth on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Bonus points for sharing this podcast with your friends. To listen to past episodes go to rewilding.org pod that's rewilding.org pod.