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Riveting Wolf Documentary Worth a Gay Gander

Riveting Wolf Documentary Worth a Gay Gander

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A new film about Koani, a wolf, is fascinating in many respects.

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I'd like to think Koani, the wolf whose life is documented in the new film True Wolf, was gay. Or at least a little queer. Her closest companion was a female dog named Indy and when Indy died, Koani lost a lot of interest in life as well. So if you're wondering what the LGBT angle on this story is, go with that.

Even without that hook, True Wolf (which hits theaters Aug. 17) is the kind of documentary that is likely to resonate with LGBT viewers. It's the story of Koani, who with the help of her human companions (the delightfully butch) Pat Tucker and Bruce Weide, became an ambassador for her species, traveling the country raising awareness about wolves.

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Before she died, Koani (and her humans) presented 1,400 programs about wolves to 200,000 people, many in the Rocky Mountain states where fear and hatred of wolves can be at its peak. Koani was born in captivity so could never be able to live in the wild but this documentary shows that Tucker and Weide did good by her (finding her a companion for her because, as we learn in the film, wolfs are pack animals that cannot be alone even for the time it took for their human to go to the bathroom!), scavenging meat from butchers (one scene of Koani carrying around a deer head is not for vegans of the faint of heart), and using her life to educate and address the larger issues around our relationships with wolves, especially at a time when Yellowstone was deciding whether to reintroduce them after they were extreminated in the Northern Rockies.

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Thought provoking, moving, and a little sad (spoiler: she dies), director Rob Whitehair's True Wolf is worthy a watch.

deliciousdiane
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Diane Anderson-Minshall

Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.
Diane Anderson-Minshall is the CEO of Pride Media, and editorial director of The Advocate, Out, and Plus magazine. She's the winner of numerous awards from GLAAD, the NLGJA, WPA, and was named to Folio's Top Women in Media list. She and her co-pilot of 30 years, transgender journalist Jacob Anderson-Minshall penned several books including Queerly Beloved: A Love Across Genders.