Can Films Save Wildlife? with CHRISTOPHER GERVAIS, Founder/CEO of Wildlife Conservation Film Festival - Highlights

“I've been fortunate over the last 13 years to meet some of the world's leading conservationists. Dr. Sylvia Earl, David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, his Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, who came to the film festival in 2014, where we showed some films from his foundation. And there have been a number of others, award-winning filmmakers, and a number of celebrities that have come to the film festival, Academy Award Winner James Cromwell. We've had other celebrities, from Paul Giamatti to Alec Baldwin to Sigourney Weaver, all of whom may have a passion for, if not saving wildlife, then for the environment. And I have found them very humble, very easy to speak to, and I'm immensely grateful that they took the time to come to WCFF from their busy schedule. And we hope to build more relationships.

So, we continue to grow, we continue to evolve. These global partnerships are helpful. And there have been a number of challenges. The biggest challenge right now that I have is I have the biggest fight of my life. In September of 2021, I was diagnosed with stage three liver cancer. And unfortunately, it's progressed now to where it's stage four and, you know, it's something that I have to fight with every day. Today I have a lot of energy. I feel good. Some days I do not get out of bed, and unfortunately, the cancer that I have is contracted by maybe 1% of the population. It's a cancer delivered by bile ducts. So there's not a lot of research on it. There's not a lot of studies on it. My physicians have been very candid with me. They cannot cure this. So I don't know how much time I have, whether it's five months, five years, or 50 more years. What they're doing right now is holding it at bay and keeping me alive.”

Christopher J. Gervais is an award winning producer. His animated film Dream won a 2017 Golden Lion for film and a Silver Lion for music at the 64th Annual International Festival of Creativity. He is environmental and marine scientist and has decades of experience in field work and research with multiple academic institutions and natural history museums. A former science and social studies teacher, later an administrator, he became the youngest principal of a public school in the state of Florida. While a graduate student, Christopher conducted fieldwork and research to study the Pleistocene Mega fauna and their fossils that were deposited over 10,000 years ago. His study of these extinct species informs his concerns for preserving biodiversity and was a significant factor in the founding of the WCFF. Christopher was one of the first scientists to conduct underwater vertebrate paleontology research. He is a professional, advanced scuba diver with NAUI, PADI, SSI and NASDS with over 2,500 logged dives. Christopher founded the WCFF in 2010 using his life savings to get the organization off the ground and has maintained the operations since then. He is a philanthropic supporter of conservation organizations across the globe. Christopher is President of the International Exploration Society, Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, member of the Ocean Geographic Society, friend of American Philosophical Society.

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