On October 22, the Columbia Climate School hosted Academy Award-winning filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi to showcase her 2023 documentary ‘Wild Life.‘

A crowd of students and community members gathered at the Columbia Forum on Tuesday night to watch filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s in-depth look at wildlife conservationist Kris Tompkins’ life and career as the CEO of Patagonia. Vasarhelyi and Chin are known for their award-winning films, such as Free Solo and Meru, which have been released through their company, Little Monster Films, in collaboration with National Geographic Documentary Films. 

Kris and her husband, Douglas Tompkins, are famous for their work and activism surrounding the ecological conservation of the Patagonia Mountains despite major backlash from the Chilean federal government. Kris and Douglas began buying large amounts of land in Patagonia in the 1990s in hopes of making it publicly conserved. Another goal of this initiative was to stop the ongoing mining economy in Chile, which has contributed to much of the air pollution and loss of biodiversity in the area. 

The film touched on Douglas’s business operations, detailing how he initially began his career as a clothing company owner. In 1966, Douglas held a grand opening for the first North Face retail store, which notably involved a performance by the Grateful Dead and a security presence by the Hell’s Angels. He later founded the outdoor company Esprit with his ex-wife Susie but eventually left the company because of his increasing ideological beliefs about sustainability and consumerism. Through business partners and mutual friends Yvon Chouinard and Dick Dorworth, Douglas met Kris in the early 1980s, who was the CEO of Patagonia at the time. Both fed up with their corporate careers, they bonded over their shared passion for ecological conservation. 

In 1991, Douglas used profits acquired from leaving his business ventures to buy about two million acres of land in Chile with the plan to establish publicly conserved National Parks. The Chilean government was understandably wary of this land purchase, with many Chilean officials worried that the couple held ulterior motives for its use. For years, Chile has relied on the mining economy in the region for income and jobs, as some areas were used as military ranges and even for ranching purposes. Kris described how she and Doug’s proposal made them nationally hated in Chile, resulting in death threats.

Despite wanting to reduce the destruction caused to the land, the national park’s plan involved some human manipulation. The Tompkins emphasized the parks’ purpose as a tourist destination to appeal to the federal government. Therefore, they proposed building public-access infrastructure, including trails, campgrounds, visitor centers, and a restaurant. After Douglas’s death, Kris worked to implement what she called “re-wilding,” a process of reintroducing native species to the Patagonia region through recreating natural food chain interactions. Kris brought pumas, anteaters, and jaguars to the area, calling the national parks a “petri dish” to restart the evolution process. Kris described these additions as a more ethical contribution to the land, as opposed to the extractive mining economy.

The main narrative of the film centered around Kris, Yvon, and Dick’s trek up to the summit of what Douglas had deemed “Mount Kristine,” a climb that had been central to his love for the Patagonia region. As the self-proclaimed first person to ascend the mountain, Douglas named it after his beloved wife. Wild Life provides sweeping shots of the vast expanses and breathtaking snow-capped mountains. The group sported all Patagonia gear as they documented the lengthy process of climbing and camping along the landscape.

On this journey, Kris expressed her ferocious love for her late husband and the overwhelming grief she felt in the wake of his death. Douglas passed away from hypothermia in 2015 during a whitewater kayaking trip in Patagonia. Nicknamed “Lolo and Birdy,” the pair had worked together for over 20 years, living in Patagonia and trying to establish the land as a national park. Kris fell into a deep depression after Douglas’s death and details how she often considered going with him, but Kris’ decision to keep living life and fight for their dream paid off. In 2018, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced the government’s plan to accept the gift of about 11 million acres from the Tompkins Conservation. This decision created and expanded eight new national parks, the largest private land donation in history.

The audience was lucky enough to hear from filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi after the screening through an interview with CBS producer Tracy Wholf. Chai answered questions from the audience genuinely and appreciatively, showing her authentic investment in the lives of Kris and Douglas Tompkins. She detailed how personal the process of making the film was, especially because her husband and co-filmmaker Jimmy Chin considered Douglas a mentor and stood alongside Kris, Dick, and friends in their summit of “Mount Kristine.” Chai also emphasized how difficult it was for her to make this documentary, knowing she had never met Douglas—an approach she had never taken before. She stressed the importance of centering Kris in the film’s narrative, calling her and Yvon “Yodas” for their expertise in ecological conservation and knowledge of Douglas’s life. 

When questioned about how she views the looming election in correlation with the film’s message, Chai stressed her desire for a world she’d like her children to grow up in. To her, this requires the thoughtfulness of people like Kris and Douglas and an effort towards conserving Earth in the face of climate change.

This documentary serves as an opportunity to view Kris and Douglas’s unique contribution to ecological conservation. Land ownership and extractive economies are increasingly important topics to understand in our world today, especially in conversation with the University’s role in perpetuating these projects. Vasarhelyi and Chin’s Wild Life is available to stream on Disney+ now!

‘Wild Life’ Screening via Bwogger