Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance Presents
Endangered Species Day Short Film Festival
Thursday, May 15, 2025
6:45 – 9:15 PM CT • Free & Online
What Is Endangered Species Day?
Every third Friday in May, people across the country come together to celebrate and fight for the plants and animals that share our world. Endangered Species Day was established by the U.S. Senate in 2006 and is now observed by hundreds of organizations, schools, and communities nationwide.
Learn more and find events near you at endangered.org — home of the Endangered Species Coalition.
This year, Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance is marking the occasion with an evening of short films that put you face to face with the species on the line — and the human decisions driving them toward extinction. Then we sit down together and talk about what comes next.
The threats are real. The erasure is happening right now. These films don’t look away — and neither should we.
The Films
We’ve curated award-winning short films that take you inside the world of endangered species and the industries threatening them. These are not feel-good nature documentaries. They are honest, urgent, and occasionally uncomfortable. That’s the point.
This festival is rated PG-13. Some films contain depictions of wildlife in peril, hunting, and environmental destruction. We believe you deserve the truth.
Short Film
A Ghost in the Making
“A wonderful and poignant short film about our disappearing bumblebees, and about the importance and beauty of the little creatures that we often forget… a must-see.”
The rusty patched bumblebee was once one of the most common bumblebees in North America. Today it is federally endangered, having lost nearly 90% of its historic range. This film asks what we lose when we stop paying attention to the smallest, most vital creatures among us.
Short Film • Lush Cosmetics & Inder Nirwan
Trophy
A beautiful film exploring the trophy hunting of grizzly bears in British Columbia. At its heart is the personal journey of Charlie Russell — a hunting guide who learned to see grizzly bears differently, and became a powerful critic of the culture of fear and status that pervades trophy hunting.
As wolves face delisting from the Endangered Species Act in America, the fate of grizzlies in BC offers a sobering window into what unchecked hunting culture does to iconic predators.
Short Film
Wake Surfing: A Threat to Our Lakes
Wake surfing boats generate wakes 3 to 5 feet high — large enough to allow surfing even on small lakes. The massive waves, downward propeller wash, ballast tanks, and “bow high” boat orientation create profound safety and environmental problems for Wisconsin’s lakes and the wildlife that depend on them.
Shorebirds like the piping plover face nest destruction and habitat loss from the relentless churn of recreational boat traffic. Our lakes cannot absorb this kind of impact in silence.
Feature Film
Batsies
Batsies follows passionate female wildlife biologists working against the clock to find a way to save bats from wind turbines — all while breaking barriers of their own. Their mission: to research new ways to protect bats from one of the fastest-growing threats to their survival.
Wind energy is a critical part of our clean energy future. But that future has to reckon honestly with what it costs wildlife. Batsies doesn’t look away from that tension.
Feature Film
Unnatural Enemies: The War on Wolves
One man’s fight to protect wolves in Alberta — a story that hits painfully close to home. With wolves facing delisting from the Endangered Species Act in America, the fate of wolves in Alberta is an identical preview of what awaits wolf populations in the Great Lakes region.
This is not just a Canadian story. It is our story.
Short Film • The Conservation Fund
Dinosaur Fish
Produced by The Conservation Fund and its local program, the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, Dinosaur Fish details a remarkable long-term effort to reintroduce the lake sturgeon to the Great Lakes region.
The lake sturgeon has survived 136 million years. This film is a testament to what patient, committed conservation can accomplish — and a reminder of how much remains at stake.
And More
Additional Short Films on Endangered Species
We’ll be screening additional short films throughout the evening covering endangered species, habitat destruction, and the human decisions that determine whether wildlife survives.
Panel Discussion
After the films, stay for a live conversation with wildlife advocates, scientists, and community members from Wisconsin and beyond. This is not a lecture — it’s a real discussion about what these films mean and what people like you can do about it.
Audience questions welcome. Come ready to engage.
The Endangered Species Act is under the most serious assault it has faced since it was signed into law. The safety net is being shredded in real time.
Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance • Speak for Wildlife
Watching these films together won’t fix all of that. But it’s where this kind of fight always starts — with people who care enough to show up, learn the truth, and refuse to look away.
We’ll see you May 15th.
Event Details
How to Register
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Direct link: SpeakForWildlife.org/film
Thursday, May 15 • 6:45–9:15 PM CT
Join Us for Endangered Species Day
Free. Online. Two hours that might change how you see the wild world around you.
Get Your Free Ticket →SpeakForWildlife.org/film