Overview
- The documentary held a free world premiere at the Great Hill in Central Park on Wednesday, July 29, hosted by City Council Member Gale Brewer and presented with Sandbox Films, Rooftop Films, the Wild Bird Fund, and the Central Park Conservancy.
- Directed by Penny Lane, the film follows Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped the Central Park Zoo in February 2023 and spent months roaming Manhattan neighborhoods including the East Village and Lower East Side.
- Flaco’s death on February 23, 2024 is treated in the film through reports that a necropsy found high levels of rodenticide and a pigeon-linked virus in his system, underscoring urban hazards for wildlife.
- The film opens theatrically at the IFC Center and in more than 60 theaters nationwide following the Central Park screening.
- The documentary foregrounds local residents such as photographer Javier Torres and barber Juan Rosado, and its partners and public screening aim to renew public discussion of urban ecology, animal stewardship, and municipal responses to wildlife risks.