Join us on Thursday, October 16, at 1930 CEST, at this year’s OKO Foto Festival, for a screening of Old Bear, which has been nominated for Best Independent Film at the Wildscreen and Jackson Wild 2025 festivals. Co-directed by award-winning filmmaker Julie Busse, this film reflects on the final days of aging grizzly bears, offering insights into human attitudes about aging and death.
Two old brown bears – one male, one female – are nearing the end of their lives in Alaska. It is the fall, and the other bears are preparing for the winter, forging, fighting, and fishing. Although the old bears were once strong, they now spend their days lying peacefully on the beach, looking out onto the bounty of the Alaskan wilderness. After rich lifetimes, they will die in their winter dens in the same mountains they were born.
About Julie Busse
Julie Busse is a Jackson Wild Award winning, Emmy-nominated, Wildscreen-nominated filmmaker and film editor. She’s known for her empathetic editing style that prioritizes storytelling through movement. She specializes in nature film, dance film, art cinema, and stories which explore human-animal intersectionality.
Julie received her MFA in film from the University of Colorado Boulder. For a decade she was the lead editor for Dancing Camera Productions in New York City. Additionally, she has exhibited experimental films and performances across the country since 2009.
About Nature Through Her Eyes
Nature Through Her Eyes, is an educational program of The VII Foundation. NTHE promotes and celebrates women’s storytelling work in the natural world, providing access and opportunity through mentoring, masterclasses, and networking.