On film: A veteran finds healing, with help from an orphaned ocelot
Former soldier Harry Turner is on a mission to reintroduce orphaned baby ocelot Keanu into a habitat in the Peruvian Amazon in the documentary “Wildcat,” directed by Trevor Beck Frost and Melissa Lesh.
COURTESY OF AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Trevor Beck Frost went to the Amazon jungle to make a film about anacondas. While in Peru, he discovered a more compelling subject: a man attempting to reintroduce an orphaned ocelot into the wild.
“Wildcat,” which Mr. Frost co-directed with Melissa Lesh, tells the story of Harry Turner, a British ex-soldier who’d fought in Afghanistan. Dealing with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, Mr. Turner flew to the Peruvian Amazon to take his own life. He reasoned that no one would know what had become of him.
In Peru, Mr. Turner eventually met Samantha Zwicker, a young scientist trying to reintegrate an ocelot into its habitat. Their friendship and common mission helped Mr. Turner start to heal.
Why We Wrote This
How does one emerge from serious despair? Trevor Beck Frost, co-director of the film “Wildcat,” discusses how an ex-soldier discovered a deeper sense of meaning and redemption when he found an orphaned ocelot that needed him to survive.
Mr. Frost spoke with the Monitor via Zoom about the film, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
How did caring for the ocelot help Mr. Turner mend?
He struggles with depression and PTSD. And then he also has this serious idea that he’s failed at everything that he’s done before and that connects back to the war. He very quickly went to ... the front lines in Afghanistan and comes to the realization that he’s fighting a war that he doesn’t believe in and he doesn’t really understand why he’s there. So when he got to the [Peruvian] rainforest, he was really looking for something that would make him feel alive and give him a sense of purpose.
It was truly a story of redemption. More than anything, that sense of purpose was tied to this idea that something needed him.
What challenges did you face in the jungle?
When everyone asks us what was the most difficult thing about making this film, it certainly wasn’t the physical aspects of production. It was the emotional aspects. It was watching people that you cared so deeply about struggling so intensely. This was really the first time in my life where I was exposed to people who are struggling with such darkness at times. I certainly wasn’t prepared for that.
Did you fall in love with Keanu, the ocelot, even though you had no interaction due to the protocols limiting his human contact?
Every single time we would go down to the rainforest, Harry would have hours of footage to share with us. There was some sort of new behavior or something funny that Keanu did, like climb a tree and fall down, or encountering a crocodile or a snake. ... We were able to see him [and] it’s quite intoxicating to be around an animal that’s so beautiful and elegant and strong.
There’s a phrase, “healing through nature,” that has been used to describe this movie. What does that phrase mean to you?
Of the last 15 years, I’ve spent the majority of my time actually in super remote environments away from my family and friends. I find that almost all of my worries and anxieties and concerns go away. My depression usually lifts. Certainly that was what drew Harry and Samantha to the rainforest.
[Studies have shown] that when patients have photos of nature in a hospital room … [they] recover faster than patients that have nothing or have other artwork. ... They actually started to take patients out into little rooftop gardens ... and they saw even faster recovery times from illness and from surgery.
Even though we see Harry in particular continuing to struggle throughout this process ... his life was saved by that place.
What do you hope viewers will learn about wildlife conservation?
We live in a world where increasingly people are afraid to take action. There’s a general belief that you need to have X, Y, Z certifications before you go out and do something. There’s a lot of problems, not just in wildlife conservation … but in so many different social issues. We need more people who are willing to just act and figure out things in the process. What I want people to take away from [the film] is that you can make a difference. You don’t have to have every single thing lined up perfectly before you take something on.
“Wildcat” is rated R for language. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.