Penny Lane’s latest feature documentary “Wild Inside,” about the Eurasian Eagle-Owl named Flaco who escaped from the Central Park Zoo, generating a global following and launching a million memes, will have its world premiere on July 29 in New York’s Central Park at a special outdoor screening.
The event is free and open to the public, and the setting is appropriate since Central Park was the site of the zoo where Flaco lived in captivity and where he was seen after vandals damaged his enclosure, leaving a hole from which he escaped.
“Central Park is a magical place, and it was made even more magical by Flaco,” Lane said in a statement. “From the beginning, I dreamed this film might one day premiere under the stars in Central Park. Today, I am pinching myself, as this dream is coming true!”
The screening is presented by Sandbox Films in association with the office of New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer and the Central Park Conservancy and presented in partnership with Rooftop Films. The film will open at Manhattan’s IFC Center on July 31 and play at select theaters nationwide, including a series of one-off screenings for International Owl Awareness Day on Aug. 4. HBO Documentary Films is producing the picture.
“Wild Inside” will be the second film directed by Lane to be released theatrically by Sandbox Films. The studio released Lane’s SXSW award-winning “Confessions of a Good Samaritan” in U.S. theaters in 2023. Her other credits include “Listening to Kenny G,” “Hail Satan?” and “Our Nixon.”
“Wild Inside” follows Flaco’s journey from captivity as he learns how to survive in the Big Apple, boasting footage sourced from NYC birders. It includes interviews with New Yorkers who fell for the bird, as well as citizen scientists and wildlife experts. Flaco defied the odds to live free for roughly a year. He died in 2024 after colliding with a building in the Upper West Side.
“At Sandbox Films we are excited by stories where big questions become part of popular culture,” Jessica Harrop, Executive Director of Sandbox Films, said in a statement. “Flaco’s story has us thinking about nature versus nurture, about what it means to be free, and about how to experience urban nature in a new way. We are thrilled to be distributing ‘Wild Inside’ in movie theaters around the country and to be commencing the release with this very special world premiere free to New Yorkers in Flaco’s home, Central Park.”
Here’s an exclusive look at the trailer for “Wild Inside”: