From Hunter-Gatherer to Filmmaker-Watcher: Why Do We Make and Watch Wildlife Films?

In this personal exploration, Dr. Özgün Emre Can traces our love for wildlife films from ancient hunters and animal trackers, who read nature’s signs, to filmmakers hunting stories with cameras today. He asks why we gather around screens, captivated, as if hearing ancestral storytellers by the fire, blending wildlife biology, neuroscience, psychology, and anthropology to ponder if these films fulfil a primal need to connect with the wild we’ve lost.

Dr. Özgün Emre Can