Douglas Tompkins was a world-renowned adventurer, entrepreneur, and conservationist. The founder of The North Face and cofounder of Esprit, Doug spent the first half of his life building successful, global brands, while simultaneously adventuring around the world, completing first descents of the world’s toughest rivers. In the early 1990s, Doug sold his part of Esprit and turned his entrepreneurial energies to land and wildlife conservation projects in South America, working alongside his wife, Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia, Inc. Over the last 25 years, Tompkins-initiated efforts have helped secure 4.75 million acres in new protected areas in Chile and Argentina including five new national parks.  A Wild Legacy tells the story of Doug’s incredible life, his lasting impact on the wild landscapes of Patagonia, and Kris and the Tompkins Conservation team’s efforts to continue his audacious mission.

Doug was tragically killed in a kayaking accident on Lago General Carrera, north of Patagonia Park, on December 8th, 2015. Douglas Tompkins: A Wild Legacy was presented to audiences at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival on May 24th, 2016 during the festival’s tribute to Doug.

“If anything can save the world, I’d put my money on beauty.” – Douglas Tompkins

The work goes on at tompkinsconservation.org.

directed by: Chris Cresci, James Q Martin

client: Tompkins Conservation

Producers: Alison Kelman, Sheila Smithson