New documentary capturing Flaco's year of freedom now playing in theaters

One of New York City's most famous birds took flight this week on the silver screen.

A new documentary about Flaco the Eurasian-eagle owl premiered at the Great Hill in Central Park, the very place he called home for most of his life.

The film, "Wild Inside," documents Flaco's escape from the Central Park Zoo in February 2023 and how his quest for freedom captivated the entire city. Hundreds of New Yorkers packed the park on Wednesday for the world premiere, along with many of the cast and crew involved in the film.

"People really expected him to not be able to take care of himself and so he kind of proved everyone wrong. That made him a symbol of resilience and hope and inspiration for a lot of people," the film's director, Penny Lane, said at Wednesday's premiere.

Flaco's ability to teach himself to fly, hunt and survive in the wild ignited a fervor throughout the city. People painted murals, got tattoos and spent countless hours trying to track or locate the newly wild animal.

"He would be flying up in here and outsmarting hawks and crows on his tail, and like they never got him," JP Borum, who regularly tracked the owl's movements throughout the park, said.

The documentary goes to places far and wide — to North Carolina where Flaco was born and Europe, the native home of the Eurasian-eagle owl — to better understand the animal and try to find answers.

"There were really important philosophical and ethical debates around questions like, 'keeping animals in captivity, what is best for a captive animal that's now been let loose? Should we recapture him? What was best for Flaco?'" Lane said.

"People still have very strong and contradictory opinions about all of that. And the film is an opportunity in a long form, you know, format to kind of give voice to all those different points of view."

Sadly, Flaco's quest ended nearly one year after his escape.

The owl was found dead after flying into the side of a building on the Upper West Side. Medical officials determined that he had a severe pigeon virus and rat poison in his system.

More than two years after his death, and three since his dramatic escape from the zoo, questions remain as to who was responsible for cutting the enclosure that allowed Flaco to leave.

"What [Flaco] did was he asked New Yorkers to notice what was already true about their city, which is that it's full of this massive, interconnected ecosystem of animals that are all striving and struggling to survive, just like we are," Lane said.

"Wild Inside" debuted in theaters on July 31 at Manhattan's IFC Center and screens across the country.