Pat Tucker takes Koani and Indy for a walk in TRUE WOLF
TRUE WOLF: THE STORY OF KOANI AND HER UNUSUAL PACK (Rob Whitehair, 2012)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between University Pl. & Fifth Ave.
Opens Friday, August 17
212-924-3363
www.cinemavillage.com
www.truewolfmovie.com
In 1991, Bruce Weide and Pat Tucker were asked to help raise a gray wolf named Koani for a documentary about what they consider to be a largely misunderstood species. Weide and Tucker, who had started the organization Wild Sentry to educate people, especially children, about the real nature of wolves and battle negative stereotyping, ended up keeping Koani, treating it like it was a combination of a child and a pet. Over the years, they took Koani, who came to be known as the ambassador wolf, to schools across the country, all the while wondering whether they had done the right thing by domesticating her. Director and producer Rob Whitehair (The Little Red Truck) depicts the unusual relationship between Bruce, Pat, Koani, and their mixed-breed dog, Indy, in the intriguing documentary True Wolf. Reminiscent of Lisa Leeman’s One Lucky Elephant, about a man’s longtime friendship with a rather large circus animal, True Wolf brings up numerous questions regarding domestication and captivity, showing protesters who would rather see wolves killed than have them roam wild in parts of Montana while Bruce and Pat speak lovingly of Koani. They marvel at how much she enjoys going for long walks, yet seeing this remarkable animal on a leash just doesn’t seem right. “Could we live with this beast?” Bruce remembers thinking. “What do you do when you’ve fallen in love?” Pat adds. It’s a fascinating conundrum that doesn’t necessarily have any easy answers, particularly at a time when the wolf population is experiencing a serious decline. True Wolf opens August 17 at Cinema Village; the 7:35 screening on Friday night will be followed by a Q&A with Whitehair and members of the National Wolfwatcher Coalition, who will be joined by current ambassador wolf Atka.