Rob Thomas reports Melissa Lesh goes from Madison to the Amazon with ‘Wildcat’ movie:
“Growing up in Madison was a huge part of my early love of nature,” Lesh said in a recent Zoom interview. “It definitely helped form my appreciation and love of wildlife and wild places.”
For the last decade, Lesh and her partner Trevor Frost have traveled the world capturing wildlife on film, from orangutans in Borneo to sturgeon in Virginia. They’ve spent the last four years on a feature documentary, “Wildcat,” for which they lived deep in the Amazon rainforest documenting a program to reintroduce baby ocelots into the wild.
It sounds like an adorable project — who doesn’t love kittens? But while “Wildcat” does have stunning (and, yes, adorable) animal footage, the documentary focuses just as much on the mental health struggles of the couple working with the cats. Harry Turner is a young British veteran suffering from PTSD from a tour in Afghanistan, while his partner Samantha Wicker carries her own trauma from an abusive childhood.
Praised by critics for its intimacy and authenticity, “Wildcat” opens in theaters Wednesday, including in Madison at Marcus Palace, and will premiere on Amazon Prime Video Dec. 30.