The Cat That Changed America, a film by Tony Lee about the intrepid mountain lion, P-22, who crossed two freeways to make his home in Griffith Park, and the quest to build the wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon, will screen on Thursday, October 19, at the Topanga Film Institute at 7 p.m.
“The star of the show, P-22, has truly become an ambassador for coexisting with wildlife,” says Beth Pratt, Regional Director of the National Wildlife Federation (prattb@nwf.org). “His story—a lonely, dateless, LA bachelor trapped by freeways—has inspired people around the world, not just to care, but to also take action. This quest to build the wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon isn’t just an L.A. story—we receive donations from all over the globe: Hong Kong, London, Florida.”
“The Cat That Changed America has provided the opportunity for us to meet and make alliances with dedicated people and organizations [to the extent that] we are now working together for statewide legislation to restrict rodent poisons (rodenticides),” says Joel Schulman of Poison Free Malibu.
The film will be followed by a Q&A with Pratt, who started the #SaveLACougars campaign with P-22 as the poster boy; Jeff Sikich of the National Park Service; Miguel Ordeñana of the Natural History Museum; Kian and Joel Schulman of Poison Free Malibu; Kim Lamorie of the Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation; Clark Stevens of the Resource Conservation District; and Sherry Mangel-Ferber, a local environmental activist.
Limited seating. RSVP is required in advance for reserved seating: carrielcarrier@gmail.com.
This event is sponsored by the Topanga Creek Watershed Committee, Topanga Chamber of Commerce and the Topanga Town Council, with additional support by the Topanga Film Institute, Messenger Mountain News and Rosewood.
The Topanga Film Institute (TFI) is located at 1111 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290.