Path of the Panther
2022, NR, US, Documentary, 89 minutes
Florida Film
Filmmakers in Attendance
Director: Eric Bendick
Producers: Carlton Ward Jr., Tori Linder, Thomas Winston, Eric Bendick
Writer: Eric Bendick
Cast: Carlton Ward Jr., Betty Osceola, Elton Langford, Dr. Jen Korn, Dr. Lara Cusack, Brian Kelly
Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, photographer Carlton Ward finds himself on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that has pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse. In a struggle resonating across the globe, the panther’s habitat has become an island. Its lush territory transformed into subdivisions. A paradise — vanishing into thin air.
Perched on the edge of extinction, the panther is an emblem of our once connected world, a vision of what could be again. Or else, a harbinger of what could befall our planet if the Path of the Panther becomes a dead end.
This odyssey of hope and heartbreak is the culmination of more than five years in the field, 500,000 still images and over 800 hours of ultra-high-definition camera trap footage. Against all odds, wild panthers have been stunningly captured in their native ecosystem, as they’ve never been filmed before.
These wide-ranging apex predators, one of the most elusive and endangered wild cats in the world, are also the inspiration for a visionary idea: a wildlife corridor. It’s the beginning of a wild “path” that could one day stretch into every corner of the American continent.
What began as a moonshot photo and film mission is evolving into a Path of the Panther movement. This groundbreaking story inspired the passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act — the first legislation of its kind and a blueprint for addressing habitat fragmentation and species extinction across the globe.
Today, the movement continues to grow. The world stands at a crossroads, and the panther is showing the way.