Meet Alex Tello

We were lucky to catch up with Alex Tello recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alex , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My love for film and animals has always been important to me. When I finally had the chance to combine both of my passions It took me onto this incredible journey. I found my purpose about a decade ago while volunteering for an animal sanctuary. I had just finished filming my first short film and I was in between projects. I knew that I wanted to do some volunteer work with animals, but I wasn’t sure where exactly. My wife mentioned to me an exotic animal sanctuary she had heard about years ago, just about 30 mins drive from our house. I looked into it and set up an appointment to volunteer. After my first day I knew what my next project would be. Not knowing what I would learn from this journey, it would change my life completely. In August of 2010 I started working on making a full feature film about animal sanctuaries all over the US. After a few years of filming, raising funds we finished the project and had great success at film festivals. I was then able to sell my first feature film Furthest from the Wild. Since then my life has been dedicated to animal welfare related projects. We are currently in post production on our spin off series all about exotic animal rescues taking us across the U.S. Furthest from the Wild the series will be out shortly.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After winning awards for my first feature film Furthest from the Wild, I decided to turn it into a franchise. In 2014 I sold the film and got nationwide distribution. Immediately after that I started to film the first episode for my upcoming docu series, The Miracle Wolves, a story about a wolf pack that survived one of the worst forest fires in Northern California. Trapped in the forest and behind a fence, they dug 15 feet underground to survive. Today we now have 5 episodes and are currently in the works of getting worldwide distribution. We’re also currently exploring and expanding to children’s books, an animated series, and merchandise. I’m also working on growing our online presence by starting a podcast where we invite animal experts to speak about animal related topics. The Furthest from the Wild video podcast is currently on Youtube and you can listen to it on Apple podcasts and Spotify as well.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When I first started my documentary journey, I did not realize the knowledge I would gain from working with animal welfare topics. The more research I did the more respect I had for those who dedicated their lives to rescuing animals. Documenting these amazing stories gave me more empathy towards nature and animals. My advice for someone just starting their journey, is to follow your passion, be open minded and never give up. It’s easy to get discouraged when someone turns you down or doesn’t believe in your idea, it’s important that you believe in it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Currently we are looking for anyone passionate about animal welfare that wants to get involved in helping us expand our franchise. We need people experienced in PR, Sales Agents, marketing & production crew as well as sponsors. I am also open to collaborate on any other projects as I have tons of experience working on documentaries. I can be reached on our website and by email at info@furthestfromthewild.org

Contact Info:


Image Credits:
Juliet Frew, Alberto Padilla, Thomas Kuo

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