Kaleb Poor
Staff Writer
Two adventure documentaries, 92 Miles: A Migration Story and Deer 139, follow follow the migration paths of Wyoming mule deer being studied by UW researchers. These will screen Nov. 7 on the University of Wyoming campus.
“It’s actually kind of a coincidence that there’s these two films coming out that have the same theme,” said Emilene Ostlind, Communications Coordinator for the Haub School of Environmental and Natural Resources. “But the films take very different storytelling approaches and the characters are different. I think it’s going to make for a very fun viewing experience.”
92 Miles: A Migration Story follows UW graduate student and Wyoming native Patrick Rodgers as he ultra-runs the 92-mile path of a mule deer, hoping to better understand the challenges faced by migrating wildlife. During the planning of his run, Rodgers’ father, a wildlife filmmaker, died of terminal illness.
“His film team has done a really masterful job of kind of using the action of migration as a metaphor for moving forward through that suffering,” said Ostlind. “It’s quite a powerful film, I think.”
Deer 139, which was also selected to be premiered at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada Sun., follows the journey of three outdoors enthusiasts – UW researcher Samantha Dwinnell, Wyoming Public Media reporter Tennessee Watson and Montana-based adventure scientist Anya Tyson – as they follow the 85-mile migration path of another GPS-collared mule deer in the Wyoming Range.
“They end up… slowing down and trying to absorb the landscape more like an animal. It really shifts their perspective on the landscape,” said Ostlind. “It’s the backyard for all of us here in Wyoming, but maybe we haven’t looked at it through the eyes of a migrating animal.”
The two films will screen at 7 p.m. in the College of Education auditorium. Both screenings are free and open to the public and will be followed by question-and-answer sessions with Rodgers and Dwinnell as well as members of their film crews.
“My takeaway from these two films is that they make me really proud to be associated with University of Wyoming, both for the important research that’s happening here, but also for the creativity and storytelling that’s around that research,” said Ostlind. “And they also make me love Wyoming even more than I did.”
