'Whatever Floats Your Goat' is a fun film about Nico Castellano and her critters motivating people to do better. She hopes to inspire conservation, sustainability and mindfulness by meeting people in the outdoor places they love.
Fun fact: Nico has one of the old school Alpacka Raft packrafts and we think that's pretty cool.
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ABOUT THE FILM:
It seems like almost everyday now you meet someone who lives the “van life”, but It’s not everyday you meet a gal who lives in her van with a small herd of farm animals. It was a sunny July afternoon in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Jack Elder was driving a remote dirt road that meanders up a wooded creek valley and dead ends somewhere near 13,000 feet. Windows down, getting jostled around in his old, trusty Tacoma, he was on the lookout for the perfect campsite. Jack saw a couple of gals hanging out at their van just off the main road. As he drove past, he gave them a smile and wave and as his eyes shifted back toward the road, he noticed a large goat in his side mirror. He idled to a stop, put the truck in reverse until his open window lined up with the gals - and now two - large goats. He introduced himself and inquired about the big horned and hoofed animals casually lying there mashing their teeth. Nico revealed she resides in her van with the two goats, three chickens, and a not-so-small German Shepherd. After chatting for a bit and reveling at her story, Jack gave them the “nice to meet ya” and carried on down the road to search for a site.
An hour or so later, Jack was getting camp set up and couldn’t stop thinking about Nico and the goat-van life. He started kicking himself for not getting her contact info. “That would make for a great little documentary” he thought, “What if I never see her again….” So he hopped on his bike and pedaled a couple miles back down the road to reintroduce himself, this time as a filmmaker. He pitched his very broad idea of filming Nico and the goats and she was pretty enthusiastic about it. They chatted a few days later, devised a rough plan, and met up a week later at a campsite a little further up the road.
And just like that, this film was born.
Nico Castellano currently spends most of her summers in Alaska doing wildlife research and runs her nonprofit, Wild Edsie, which focuses on conservation, sustainability, and mindfulness education. You can learn more about her organization at www.WildEdsie.com.
Filmmaker, Jack Elder, lives in Carbondale, Colorado and specializes in outdoor commercial and documentary filmmaking. You can keep up with his past, present and future projects at www.JackalopeCinema.com.
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FILM CREDITS
Film Maker: Jack Elder of Jackalope Cinema
Featuring: Nico Castellano of WildEdsie.org or @necofriendly
Music by: Logan Fletcher
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M. ovi Disclaimer (also shown in the film)
There are bacteria such as Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), and other fatal diseases that can be transmitted from domestic sheep and goats to wild populations of bighorn sheep and other animals. That is why Nico regularly gets her goats tested for disease and keeps them separated from their wild cousins. Other people who own or care for domestic sheep and goats should do the same to protect wild populations. Please and thank you.
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