Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” a documentary that shines a harsh spotlight on the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horses. The non-fiction film was written, directed, and edited by Ashley Avis, who is best known for making 2020’s “Black Beauty” for Disney+.
Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary in select theaters and on demand on May 12, 2023. The film looks at the reasons why wild horses in the Western part of the U.S. are fast disappearing and could be eradicated. At its core, the film argues, is a divisive battle over land and special interests, one in which horses are collateral damage. They are rounded up by helicopters, and facing encroachment on their natural habitat. Often, officials separate them from their families, a wrenching experience for the animals.
Avis and her crew went on a multi-year expedition to pull back the curtain on the issues facing wild horses, hoping to protect them before they disappear forever.
“It is my great hope that ‘Wild Beauty’ will generate the critical awareness necessary to protect wild horses, before they are lost to history.” says Avis. “The nature of how these highly intelligent horses and their families are being treated by the government agency tasked to protect them is cruel, antiquated, and deeply unsettling. We created this film over the course of five years to not only honor the astounding beauty of our wild world, but to encourage people of all ages to protect it, too. It is time to enact change, and we hope the journalistic truth revealed in ‘Wild Beauty’ will help inspire audiences along with Congress.”
“The immeasurable passion of Ashley Avis and Ed Winters for saving the wild horses of The West glows from the screen through the beautiful cinematography and story of these majestic animals under threat, and invites viewers to take action to save them. We at Gravitas are proud to bring this invitation to audiences throughout North America,” stated Bill Guentzler, Gravitas Ventures’ senior director of acquisitions.
Avis is repped by WME and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman. The deal was negotiated by Guentzler on behalf of Gravitas Ventures, and WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. The film was produced by Ashley Avis, Edward Winters, and Richard Avis under their Winterstone Pictures banner, along with 501c3 nonprofit The Wild Beauty Foundation.