Park City film series documentary addresses local issue

As a part of the Reel Community Series, the Park City Film Series hosted a free screening of Project Wild Thing at the Jim Santy Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Park City. After the film a panel discussion was held with experts of environmental education about the therapeutic benefits from being outdoors.

Brittany Ingalls, the conservation coordinator at the Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter, said Project Wild Thing was an important addition to the Park City Film Series because it is important to connect the community with the natural world.

“Modern life has many pulls, technology among them, which have a tendency to displace nature from people’s lives,” Ingalls said. “This film, which examines both the pulls which take us away from the natural world as well as solutions to bring nature back into our lives, was an intuitive fit for our audience.”

David Bond, the director and filmmaker of Project Wild Thing, started this movement when he realized his children were developing a technology dependency.

Katharine Wang, the executive director of the Park City Film Series, said this exact problem is prevalent in Park City, Utah.

“We felt that the film fits with a national conversation; our children aren’t experiencing the childhoods we had growing up outside. They have dozens of distractions,” Wang said. “This film delves into the important conversation that kids need to get outside and explains why it is so important. Being outside creates better thinkers, lowers chances of obesity and just heightens one’s sense of being,” Wang said.

Jeff Rose, an assistant professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism at the University of Utah, led the panel discussion. Wang explained that when the Park City Film Series brings in films like Project Wild Thing it typically brings in an expert to relate the content of the film to the local issue at hand.

“Because this film is shot in an urban environment, Dr. Rose explained his research about health benefits that come with being outside in a way that the audience could connect it to the way of life in Park City,” Wang said. “This gets the audience to engage in the conversation and think critically, which helps start a positive movement.”

More information on Project Wild Thing and its movement can be found at http://www.thewildnetwork.com. Screenings of Project wild thing can be arranged visiting http://www.thewildnetwork.com/arrange_a_screening.