With a timeliness to honor their State Parks’ Centennial, two Texas businesses—grocery chain H-E-B and Fin and Fur Films—have teamed up to bring a new, five-part nature docuseries to life.
In addition to honoring the history and journey of the state parks system over the last century, the series showcases Texas wildlife—including ocelots, black bears, redfish, and bats—as well as the unique challenges and victories they’re currently experiencing.
The documentary concept was birthed by H-E-B, as a testament to their commitment to sustainability.
“One thing every Texan has in common is our love for this state,” H-E-B said. “That’s why we’re committed to ensuring that our state is just as great 100 years from now as it is today through H-E-B’s commitment: Our Texas, Our Future.”
The initiative stands as the company’s promise to help preserve Texas’ natural resources.
With this goal at the forefront, and visual storytelling as the medium, H-E-B found an ideal partner in Austin-based Fin and Fur Films.
The small but passionate team of creatives that comprise Fin and Fur channels their love of the natural world into their art. While the firm often produces shorter films, they have successfully delved into the world feature-length films as well. Perhaps the most notable among these to date is Deep in the Heart—a striking cinematic portrait of Texas’ unique land and wildlife, narrated by Matthew McConaughey.
In a recent interview with Kinute, producer Katy Baldock from Fin and Fur Films, sat down to discuss the docuseries, conservation efforts, and the dedication that drives their team.
Black Bear from film Second Chance. Photo by Fin and Fur Films
Why is Fin and Fur passionate about creating films centered around wildlife, conservation and adventure?
The members of our team at Fin and Fur are all individually passionate about conservation issues and making an effort to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat. We feel that film is the most impactful form of storytelling and has the power to generate empathy for at-risk wildlife species and ecosystems. It's our goal to use filmmaking as a way to generate support for conservation efforts and provide audiences with resources to take action and get involved in those efforts.
Mass exodus of bats, from the film Batsies. Photo by Fin and Fur Films
Since its inception Fin and Fur has realized considerable success with its films. What does the company accredit its success to?
We have an incredible team of folks who care about the mission behind the work we're doing, and we have an incredible network of researchers and conservation organizations that we partner with. We would not be able to do the work we do without the support of like-minded individuals who fund our films, conservation organizations who help us get projects started, and researchers who generously share their knowledge with us so we can tell their stories in our films.
What typically gives an idea the spark to bring it to life – to take it from concept to production?
There are a lot of incredible organizations and individuals working to conserve wildlife species in ecosystems, and oftentimes hearing about the work they are doing inspires us to share those stories and help generate support for their efforts.
Ocelot, from film Ranching with Ocelots. Photo by Fin and Fur Films
How did the partnership between H-E-B and Fin & Fur come to be?
H-E-B was looking to create a docuseries focused on Texas wildlife stories and a celebration of our Texas State Parks. After some of their team members saw our most recent feature film, Deep in the Heart, they approached us about partnering on this series of conservation-focused short films.
What are the goals in creating this film series?
The goal of the series is to raise awareness for wildlife stories across Texas—both for species that have made incredible comebacks as well as species that are facing significant threats—and the organizations that are working to restore and recover these species and the ecosystems they inhabit.
Redfish, from film Redfish Revival. Photo by Fin and Fur Films
What has the response been like thus far, to the Our Texas, Our Future films?
The response to this film series has been overwhelmingly positive. For a small production company, it's really exciting to be able to partner with a huge, well-loved company like H-E-B to help get the films out there and garner more support for the film subjects.
What’s on the horizon for Fin and Fur that you’re all excited about?
We have more feature-length natural history films in the works that we're looking forward to releasing in the years to come, and plan to continue production of conservation-focused short films as well.
Director Austin Alvarado. Photo by Fin and Fur Films