‘Ohio: Wild at Heart’ Now Showing in Select Theaters Statewide

While many of today’s most popular nature documentaries take a more global scope — exploring the freezing arctic, deep oceans or remote jungles — “Ohio: Wild at Heart” turns the lens closer to home. Through sweeping aerial shots, close-up animal encounters and interviews with Ohio residents, the film explores the state’s forests, cliffs, rivers and lakes with the same grandeur you would expect from any big-screen nature documentary.

Produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, this 40-minute film narrated by Archie Griffin takes viewers on a stunning visual journey through Ohio’s natural beauty and shares often-overlooked stories that define our relationship with the place we call home.

It highlights the breadth of wildlife that can be found in Ohio, from the triumphant comeback of the bald eagle and trumpeter swans to the restoration of our rivers and waterways. Woven throughout the film are moments showcasing how people connect with these wild places, be it through hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, ice fishing or even dogsledding.

“We had a whole crew of people working on this, and it was fun,” Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said during a panel discussion following a screening of the film at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. “And I think it’s a great way for us to tell the story of what people work so hard on every day.”

Many of Ohio’s iconic landmarks — featured from a selection of its 76 state parks — are highlighted in the film as well, including the Glacial Grooves on Kelleys Island, the sandstone formations at Hocking Hills State Park and stretches of the Buckeye Trail. Birders might recognize Magee Marsh, featured in the film during a celebration of the Biggest Week in American Birding, while unique scenes, like dedicated ice fishers on a frozen Mosquito Lake, may inspire viewers to get out themselves.

The film carries a clear through line of conservation, reflecting on past successes and highlighting the work being done right now, such as wildlife rehabilitation. The film includes a release of bobcats back into the Appalachian Hills Wildlife Area.

“One of my favorite lines in the whole movie is when Jenny Richards explains that if we want to preserve these wild places, if we want to preserve this beautiful Ohio, we need people to fall in love with it all over again,” Mertz said, echoing the words of the naturalist at Shawnee State Park. “And to do that, they need to be outside and experience it, whether it’s raining or snowing or a beautiful day.”

The movie is currently showing in 18 theaters across the state, including COSI in Columbus, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Imagination Station in Toledo and the Cincinnati Museum Center.

For more information and to find screenings near you, visit ohiothemovie.com.

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