texas

Texas-Based ‘Deep in the Heart' is a Call to Action

The new documentary covers the Lone Star State's wide range of wildlife and spaces

NBCUniversal, Inc.

If you go to the theater this summer, you'll find blockbuster movies, and also a documentary that hits close to home.

'Deep in the Heart' is a film about Texas wildlife and wild spaces.

"It's Texas' first wildlife movie," the film's director Ben Masters said. "If you can catch it on the big screen definitely do it, cause it's awesome seeing a mountain lion the size of an 18-wheeler come up and sniff ya!"

The documentary spans the Lone Star State, highlighting its biodiversity.

"I hope to some extent it becomes cool to talk about wildlife and conservation," Masters said. "We've got the coolest man in Texas, Matthew McConaughey talking about it."

The Texan actor is the film's narrator.

"It's the perfect voice for Texas," Masters said, adding that he always envisioned McConaughey's voice in his film. "It was a huge validation that we were onto something special."

Masters and his crew spent two years shooting the imagery for the doc and another year editing it. Some of the unique images include ocelots, about the size of a bobcat, but more athletic.

"There's only 80 of them in the entire United States," Masters said. "So super special footage."

The film tells the story of conservation through the eyes of the species they follow.

"It's just a ton of fun watching the audience react to it," Master said. "There's a bunch of laughter in it. There's jokes at Oklahoma that every Texas documentary should have."

The visually stunning film is also meant to be a call to action.

"This is our home, and the rivers that are featured...are the rivers that float through our cities," Masters said. "There's a lot that everybody can do to help out Texas, and that's exciting and I hope the movie has a really big impact."

Master said there are plans to cut segments into shorter teaching tools and make them available to classrooms.

"This is the love letter to Texas," Masters said. "It's poetry about our home."

'Deep in the Heart' is in theaters now. Click here to see where.

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