Wild Life tells the story of a small town that collapses in on itself after the local high school falls victim to a mass shooting that takes the lives of fourteen people, students and faculty. It is the story of a broken community that must piece itself back together in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. 

Specifically, the film follows fifteen year old Rudolph Priest. His world stops spinning when he survives a deadly school shooting, and his heart breaks in two when he realizes his best friend, Donny, did not.

Things spiral further out of control when the gunman is revealed to be Rudolph’s older brother, Randy, and when it becomes clear that their parents will stop at nothing to keep him out of prison.

Now, Rudolph must decide for himself whether he will bend to his family’s will, like he always has, or if he will stand up to them, stand by the community that his brother destroyed, and find some sense of justice for the person he loved most in the world.

Wild Life is a story about loss-losing a loved one, losing one’s innocence, and losing sight of what is important. It is a story about doing the right thing in the face of adversity, standing up for what you believe in, and making your voice heard. It is also an example of this. 

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of my personal heroes, Tom Mauser—Tom’s fifteen year old son, Daniel, was one of the thirteen who died at Columbine High School. In his memoir, entitled Walking in Daniel’s Shoes, Tom writes,

“[Society] so often looked to those who had suffered a great loss to step in and rally others. Why look to them to point out the obvious need for change?”

Wild Life has never been just a film, but rather a form of activism.