Samantha Zwicker is the field producer and film subject of the soon to be released “Wildcat” documentary. After obtaining both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from UW, Samantha left her life in Seattle to do research in Peru. Her love for the region and a need for more ecological research and applied conservation in the area have kept her there for the past decade. She has been living full-time in the jungle where she has built a non-profit, Hoja Nueva, focused on ecological research, applied conservation, and rewilding wild cats. The story tracks Zwicker’s relationship with Harry Turner, a traumatized veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and their efforts to help an orphaned ocelot, over the course of 18 months, who was rescued from the black market. Harry’s mental health is also a focus of the film.

Several years ago, Samantha took in an injured ocelot, and word spread in the community where she has close ties. Soon she found herself rehabilitating many wildcats. Her team of seven people help these cats – as well as coatis, monkeys, and more – eventually return to the wild. Along with running her non-profit, she is also working on completing her doctorate in quantitative ecology in SEFS.

The Amazon Prime film company connection has helped gain a lot of traction for the story and has taken Samantha to many film festival screenings this year, including Austria, Amsterdam, Telluride, LA and New York, as well as Bainbridge Island where Samantha is from.

“Wildcat” hits theaters on Dec. 21 and will be released on Amazon Prime on Dec. 30, 2022. You can watch the trailer for the film here as well as find reviews for the film and Q&A’s on the Hoja Nueva website.

You can read more about Samantha and Turner’s story in the Seattle Times.