The Wild Horse Redemption

New Zealand Premiere

Uplifting and lyrical, Oscar-winning filmmaker John Zaritsky weaves an uplifting and lyrical documentary about second chances in an innovative prison rehabilitation programme in Colorado that traces the incredible stories of both the wild mustangs and the hardened inmates. The film masterfully intertwines their parallel fates and their mutual struggle towards rehabilitation. Can taming these wild horses in turn tame the prisoners? Can it really be that simple?

Three times a year, wild horses roaming public land in the American Southwest are rounded up, with some of these feral mustangs joining the Wild Horse Inmate Program at the East Canon Correctional Complex situated at the base of the Colorado Rockies. Inmates learn ‘horse whisperer’ techniques, an innovative and highly successful initiative that takes beings with wild spirits who've not lived by the world’s rules and teaches them patience, discipline, respect (and even love) for another creature. The most stirring moments of this film capture the intimacy forged between beast and man in the dramatic space of the training ring, where both undergo extraordinary transformations.

This is cinema at its best, a captivating and unforgettable experience. The cinematography celebrates the aesthetics of the landscape and the horses, with each bray and frost-filled snort filling the early frames with awe. Audiences are sure to find hope in this intimate tale of freedom, discipline and redemption.