Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) is helping inspire local explorers and naturalists with its new OMNIMAX® film Backyard Wilderness, opening October 23 in the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater.
Backyard Wilderness brings viewers nose-to-nose with the animals that roam the treetops, forest floor and pond bottoms in our own backyards. Created by Emmy Award-winning and Oscar®-nominated filmmakers Andrew Young and Susan Todd, the film surprises and entertains viewers with the unexpected delights of nature that are in our own neighborhoods. Spanning a seasonal year around a suburban home, the film displays a stunning array of unique wildlife imagery and behavior – all captured by cameras mounted inside dens and nests and moving along forest floors and pond bottoms.
“Backyard Wilderness is more amazing than anything you would see in a made-for-TV documentary. It’s stunning in its cinematography, making it a truly unique film for our equally unique OMNIMAX® Theater,” says Dave Duszynski, president of Mercury Museum Services, a subsidiary of Cincinnati Museum Center.
In an age where phones, tablets, laptops and TVs demand our attention, Backyard Wilderness reminds us that Wi-Fi is not the only connection that matters. Sometimes in ordinary places, you can uncover extraordinary things that can transform you forever. You just need to step outside.
“We’re thrilled to have made this movie,” said filmmakers Andrew Young and Susan Todd. “We live in a world where we are consumed with technology and the notion of instant gratification. Our desire for this film is to incite parents and children alike to slow down and embrace the small marvels of nature. No matter where you live, we all have access to unique and amazing outdoor environments that we can explore together at any age.”
For those leaving the film with a desire to explore the wild around them, CMC offers plenty of opportunities for inspiration. Within the museum, you can visit Inspired by Nature: The Art and Activism of Charley Harper, reading Harper’s whimsical take on the state of nature alongside his iconic geometric artwork. From home, you can explore your own neighborhood, using the iNaturalist app or notepad to document what you see on the ground, in the trees or in the creek. Then share what you saw with us in our Nature’s Trading Post, where our youngest citizen scientists help us and others understand the nature all around us. If you’re really looking for adventure, though, visit our Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System in Adams County – 20,000 acres of some of the most biodiverse land in the nation.
“If people weren’t excited and curious to search for their own slice of wild before, they certainly will be after seeing Backyard Wilderness,” says Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “Observation is a critical part of the scientific method and a key to understanding the world around us, so we want to encourage those with innate curiosity to explore their own world, starting right in their own backyard, and we’re happy to provide them the tools and inspiration to do so.”
Backyard Wilderness has received accolades from around the world, including Best Film Short Subject, Best Film Lifelong Learning, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Big Idea Award at the Giant Screen Cinema Association Achievement Awards; Best Children’s Film at the International Wildlife Film Festival; Best Creativity Film at the Beijing International Film Festival; Best Engaging Young Scientists Film at the Jackson Hole Science Media Awards; and was an official selection at both the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital and One Earth Film Festival.
Backyard Wildnerness is produced and directed by Andrew Young and Cincinnati-native Susan Todd, who wrote the film together with SK’s Wendy MacKeigan (Flight of the Butterflies, Amazon Adventure).
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios has produced an educational initiative to deepen learning from the film and provide kids, families and educators with the tools and knowledge they need to get outside and observe the natural world around them.
Backyard Wilderness is an Arise Media / Archipelago Films production in collaboration with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios released by SK Films.
Backyard Wilderness opens in the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater October 23. For more information, visit cincymuseum.org/omnimax/backyard-wilderness
