Fin and Fur Films is an Emmy-nominated production company focusing on wildlife, adventure, and conservation stories. We are based in Texas and often work across the American West. We’re a small and effective team that creates 3-5 short films each year and a feature film every two to three years. Our specialty is long lens cinematography, camera trapping, and telling nuanced stories intended to help wildlife and wildlife habitat. We’ve had the honor to work with amazing organizations such as The Wildlife Society, The Nature Conservancy, The Audubon Society, East Foundation, Borderlands Research Institute, and the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, and have distributed films in theaters around the world, on Netflix, National Geographic, Starz, and other platforms. But we’re most proud of our work when we can make a boots-on-the-ground impact, such as getting horses adopted out of pens or supporting wild animals being released into a new area.
Films
FEATURES
Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story
Deep in the Heart is a visually stunning celebration of Texas’ diverse landscapes and remarkable wildlife found nowhere else. Narrated by Matthew McConaughey, the film aims to conserve our remaining wild places, to show the connectivity of water and wildlife, and to recognize Texas’ conservation importance on a continental scale.
The River and the Wall
The River and the Wall follows five friends on an immersive adventure through the unknown wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel 1200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes, and canoes.
They set out to document the borderlands and explore the potential impacts of a wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters.
Unbranded
Four young Cowboys hatch a plot to adopt, train, and ride a string of wild mustangs 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada through the wildest terrain of the American West. The trip became an epic journey of self-discovery, tested friendships, and iconic landscapes that included runaway horses, a sassy donkey, perilous mountain passes, rodeos, sickness, injury, and death. The Audience Award winner at Telluride Mountainfilm and Hot Docs Film Festival, Unbranded is a soaring tale of danger and resilience, an emotionally charged odyssey that shines a bright light on the complex plight of our country's wild horses.
SHORTS
American Ocelot
After all native desert bighorn sheep were eliminated from Texas by the 1960s, conservationists began the long fight for their return. Now, after many years of hard work and trial and error, healthy populations roam parts of the state. Return of the Desert Bighorn follows wildlife biologists as they capture, collar, and relocate desert bighorn to restore populations in West Texas.
American Ocelot tells the story of one of the most endangered and beautiful wild cats in the country. With fewer than 120 remaining in the US, ocelots are genetically isolated and only exist in Texas. With many factors acting against them, there is still hope for their survival… if opposing parties can come to an agreement on their management methods. Follow filmmaker Ben Masters as he sets out the capture the first ever high quality footage of American Ocelots in the wild and meets with stakeholders along the way.
Return of the Desert Bighorn
After all native desert bighorn sheep were eliminated from Texas by the 1960s, conservationists began the long fight for their return. Now, after many years of hard work and trial and error, healthy populations roam parts of the state. Return of the Desert Bighorn follows wildlife biologists as they capture, collar, and relocate desert bighorn to restore populations in West Texas.
After all native desert bighorn sheep were eliminated from Texas by the 1960s, conservationists began the long fight for their return. Now, after many years of hard work and trial and error, healthy populations roam parts of the state. Return of the Desert Bighorn follows wildlife biologists as they capture, collar, and relocate desert bighorn to restore populations in West Texas.
Researchers capture a wild mountain lion to put a GPS collar on her in order to study mountain lion prey, home range size, and to get a glimpse into the secretive lives of Texas' largest apex predator. The data collected only adds to the mystery. How do mountain lions continue to persist in West Texas where they can be trapped, shot, and killed without regulation?
Lions of West Texas
Researchers capture a wild mountain lion to put a GPS collar on her in order to study mountain lion prey, home range size, and to get a glimpse into the secretive lives of Texas' largest apex predator. The data collected only adds to the mystery. How do mountain lions continue to persist in West Texas where they can be trapped, shot, and killed without regulation?
Texan Wildlife Biologists are fighting for the future of Pronghorn by helicopter netting over 100 individuals, transplanted them to a devastated area, and reestablishing an iconic species in the vast landscapes of West Texas.
Horse Rich and Dirt Poor
Wild horses are caught between an incredibly polarized and emotionally charged debate aiming to write their future in the American West. The result of this debate is a legal stalemate causing wild horse numbers to continue rising well beyond unsustainable levels, causing irreversible damage to public lands. Horse Rich and Dirt Poor follows ecologist Charles Post as he explores America’s pressing wild horse issue and the effects it has on the surrounding ecosystem.
Texan Wildlife Biologists are fighting for the future of Pronghorn by helicopter netting over 100 individuals, transplanted them to a devastated area, and reestablishing an iconic species in the vast landscapes of West Texas.
5,000 Miles of Wild
2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. To celebrate, American Rivers staff, Senator Tom Udall, Ted Roosevelt IV and others took a four-day canoe trip through iconic canyons of the Wild and Scenic Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. 5000 Miles of Wild combines stunning scenery with insightful commentary on the state of river conservation, explains the importance of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and provides a powerful call to action for protecting our country’s remaining wild rivers for future generations.
Texan Wildlife Biologists are fighting for the future of Pronghorn by helicopter netting over 100 individuals, transplanted them to a devastated area, and reestablishing an iconic species in the vast landscapes of West Texas.
Selah: Water from Stone
Nearly 50 years ago David Bamberger went public with Church's Chicken and used the capital to purchase 5,500 acres of overgrazed land that was considered some of the poorest acreage in the Texas Hill Country. He devoted the rest of his life to restoring it, clearing overgrown woody vegetation, allowing native grasses to grow, and literally creating Water from Stone. His example of land stewardship has been replicated across the region and he's considered a visionary in land management and water conservation.
Texan Wildlife Biologists are fighting for the future of Pronghorn by helicopter netting over 100 individuals, transplanted them to a devastated area, and reestablishing an iconic species in the vast landscapes of West Texas.
Pronghorn Revival
Texan Wildlife Biologists are fighting for the future of Pronghorn by helicopter netting over 100 individuals, transplanted them to a devastated area, and reestablishing an iconic species in the vast landscapes of West Texas.
This film is about a ten-year-old girl, Sophia, her dad, and their first journey together on the Devils River. See the most unspoiled river in Texas through a child’s eyes as she takes on rapids for the first time and fishes and swims her way downstream. In the process, she learns a little about what keeps the river flowing and about decisions being made today that may change the river she’ll float as an adult. This film marks Sophia’s directing debut, and she describes her short film as, “an adventure filled with wonder, excitement, and unforgettable experiences.”
Me, My Dad, and the Devils
This film is about a ten-year-old girl, Sophia, her dad, and their first journey together on the Devils River. See the most unspoiled river in Texas through a child’s eyes as she takes on rapids for the first time and fishes and swims her way downstream. In the process, she learns a little about what keeps the river flowing and about decisions being made today that may change the river she’ll float as an adult. This film marks Sophia’s directing debut, and she describes her short film as, “an adventure filled with wonder, excitement, and unforgettable experiences.”
Wildlife and the Wall showcases the beautiful landscapes of the United States-Mexico border, discusses what a border wall would impact beyond immigration, and provides a look at how a few wildlife species in the area would be affected.
Wildlife and the Wall
Wildlife and the Wall showcases the beautiful landscapes of the United States-Mexico border, discusses what a border wall would impact beyond immigration, and provides a look at how a few wildlife species in the area would be affected.
Myron Hess fights a battle for Texas river environmental flows that we cannot afford to lose.
Texas Living Waters
Myron Hess fights a battle for Texas river environmental flows that we cannot afford to lose.
The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is the leading wildlife research organization in Texas and one of the finest in the nation. Established in 1981 by a grant from the Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, the Institute operates as a nonprofit organization and depends financially upon private contributions and faculty grantsmanship. Our mission is to provide science-based information for enhancing the conservation and management of wildlife in South Texas and related environments.
Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
The Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is the leading wildlife research organization in Texas and one of the finest in the nation. Established in 1981 by a grant from the Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, the Institute operates as a nonprofit organization and depends financially upon private contributions and faculty grantsmanship. Our mission is to provide science-based information for enhancing the conservation and management of wildlife in South Texas and related environments.
Port Aransas and the surrounding communities are threatened by dredging activities and development of VLCC export facilities within the bays & estuaries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Port Aransas Conservancy proposes to take the export facility offshore.
Port Aransas: Paradise in Peril
Port Aransas and the surrounding communities are threatened by dredging activities and development of VLCC export facilities within the bays & estuaries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Port Aransas Conservancy proposes to take the export facility offshore.
Books
A 1,200 mile canoe, horse, and bicycle journey down the Rio Grande to explore how a border wall would affect wildlife, immigration, border security, landowners, and public lands. This book, companion to The River and the Wall documentary, features 200 pages with over 150 behind-the-scenes photos and additional commentary surrounding the making of the film.
On an epic 3,000-mile journey through the most pristine backcountry of the American West, four friends rode horseback on adopted wild mustangs across an almost contiguous stretch of unspoiled public lands, border to border, from Mexico to Canada. This 180-page book accompanies the Unbranded documentary and includes exclusive behind the scenes stories and photos.
