The filmmakers behind the Academy Award-winning documentary Free Solo (2018) are back to profile one of the world's foremost conservationists.
On Wednesday, National Geographic exclusively shared with PEOPLE the trailer for Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's new documentary Wild Life, which follows former Patagonia CEO and conservationist Kristine Tompkins and her late husband Douglas Tompkins' efforts to create significant space for new national parks across South America.
The documentary's trailer teases clips of Kristine and others describing her romance with Douglas, a co-founder of clothing companies The North Face and Esprit, as they resolved to quit their jobs in the outdoor clothing industry and set about purchasing land in countries like Chile and Argentina with an end goal of donating the land back to those countries as fully-formed national parks.
Utilizing archival footage of Douglas and in-person interviews with Kristine and filmmaker Chin, the film also explores Kris' efforts to finish her and her late husband's work after his death in 2015 at age 72 during a kayaking accident in Chile.
Kris and Douglas "turned their attention to a visionary effort to create National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina" after they married in the 1990s, with the film showcasing "the highs and lows of their journey to effect the largest private land donation in history," according to an official synopsis for the film.
The documentary is scheduled to premiere at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on March 12.
"Jimmy and Chai have honored Doug's and my life's work in a profound, moving way," Kristine Tompkins tells PEOPLE in a statement regarding the film. "I am grateful. I can only wish that Wild Life offers a semblance of hope and reminds anyone who sees it that whoever you are and wherever you live you can make a difference in this world."
Filmmakers Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi, who previously collaborated with National Geographic on Free Solo, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards, tell PEOPLE in a statement that they "love examining what humans can achieve when they commit to the impossible."
"Kris and Doug lived extraordinary lives, leaving everything behind to find meaning and love... Conservation at this level and scale changes the world," the pair says. "We are so excited to share this story."
Wild Life premieres theatrically nationwide beginning April 14 in New York City and Washington D.C., among other cities. The film will make its broadcast debut on the National Geographic Channel May 25 and begins streaming on Disney+ May 26.
