“Wild Inside,” director Penny Lane’s new feature-length documentary about a Eurasian eagle owl named Flaco who escaped from the Central Park Zoo, created a global following and spawned a million memes, will make its world premiere at a special outdoor screening in New York’s Central Park on July 29.
The event was free and open to the public, and the setting was appropriate because Central Park was the location of the zoo where Flaco was imprisoned and where Flaco was seen after vandals destroyed his enclosure, leaving a hole through which he escaped.
“Central Park is a magical place, and Flaco has made it even more magical,” Lane said in a statement. “From the beginning, I dreamed that this movie would one day be shown under the stars in Central Park. Today, this dream has come true and I’m pinching myself.”
The screening is sponsored by Sandbox Films in collaboration with New York City Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer’s Office and the Central Park Conservancy and presented in partnership with Rooftop Films. The film will open at the IFC Center in Manhattan on July 31st and will be shown in select theaters nationwide, including a series of one-off screenings in conjunction with International Owl Awareness Day on August 4th. Produced by HBO Documentary Films.
“The Wild Inside” is Lane’s second film to be released theatrically by Sandbox Films. The studio will release Lane’s SXSW Award-winning Confessions of a Good Samaritan in U.S. theaters in 2023. Her other credits include Listening to Kenny G and Hail Satan? and “Our Nixon.”
“Wild Inside” follows Flaco’s journey from captivity as he learns how to survive in the Big Apple, using footage provided by New York City bird watchers. It includes interviews with citizen scientists and wildlife experts, as well as New Yorkers who are obsessed with this bird. Flaco defied the odds and lived freely for about a year. He died in 2024 when he crashed into a building on the Upper West Side.
“At Sandbox Films, we’re excited about stories where big questions become part of popular culture,” Sandbox Films executive director Jessica Harrop said in a statement. “Flaco’s story makes us think about nature and nurture, what it means to be free, and how to experience urban nature in new ways. We’re excited to begin distributing The Wild Inside in theaters nationwide and opening it for free to New Yorkers in Flaco’s home of Central Park in this very special world premiere.”
Watch the exclusive trailer for “Wild Inside.”
