A National Film Board of Canada production

In a world adrift, littered with post-human debris, a lone wolf and a fierce wolverine forge an unlikely bond. Together, they brave harsh elements and cross charred, desolate landscapes in search of others who might remain. Beneath the shimmering Northern Lights, nature’s persistence is illuminated and a mysterious Arctic force awakens. From engineer-turned-filmmaker Wahid Ibn Reza, After Us is an epic CGI voyage—a meditation on resilience and the enduring courage of hope.

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Amid the silence of human ruin, a wolf and a wolverine learn to trust, searching for a new possible world.

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In a world adrift, a wolf and a wolverine learn to trust, searching for a new possible future.

I didn’t quite understand the urgency of the climate crisis until I became a father. That’s when I realized that I have to make the planet a better place for my little girl and her generation to grow up in. At least I have to try. As a visual storyteller, I decided to tell a story that would evoke an emotional response from the audience. But which story to tell? From what perspective? In the vast landscape of the climate crisis, what do I focus on? With so many voices out there, what are the voices we haven’t heard yet?

And then I saw images of animals who survived the devastating Australian wildfires. The silent, stoic look in those eyes spoke to me louder than anything else. I found similarities in the expressions of animals covered in oil or searching for food miles away from their ruined natural habitats. It was then I knew: that’s the story I have to tell.

When I look at recent global events involving the climate crisis, my mind can’t help but split into two. On the one hand, I feel that as humans we are incredibly resourceful and can overcome any adversities. On the other hand, I fear we can also be extremely self-centred, selfish and narrow-minded. And that second belief led me to think that, if we continue on this path and arrive at the point of no return, we may actually abandon this planet and all the other animals on Earth, and leave for good. What will happen then? Is anybody telling that story? That fear and these questions were the inception of the animated short After Us, which captures the final journey of three animals left behind by humans.

I went with animals that are iconic in Canadian culture. Something about a lone wolf on a journey just seemed fitting. But from the beginning, I wanted the film to avoid an ultra-realistic or traditional, over-expressive look. I wanted a stylized look that would feel like a painting and hopefully work on a subconscious level for the audience. The low-poly style and hand-painted textures of our characters, set in a painterly, realistic environment, gave us the hand-made feel this film craved. And the realistic physical movements of the characters, combined with the fluid nature of the visual storytelling, viscerally convey the journey these animals take in this film. Tonally, After Us is sombre, dark and gritty, like its core message. And the pacing, shot timing, sound and music are relentless, in keeping with the urgency of the film’s subject matter.

Wahid Ibn Reza

5 ECOLOGICAL FACTS TO ACCOMPANY THE FILM

1) WOLVES

Whether hunting large animals like moose or muskox, or raising pups during the short Arctic summer, wolves depend on co-operation to succeed. Social, intelligent and highly adaptable, wolves have long been considered symbols of untamed wilderness.

2) WOLVERINES

Wolverines are solitary animals, typically only coming together once a year to mate. They often hunt small animals, though scavenging remains can also be a frequently employed method of survival.

3) NORTHERN LIGHTS

When the sun blasts charged particles into space that are dragged and stretched along Earth’s magnetic field, these blasts collide with gases in the planet’s upper atmosphere, causing visible light shows known as “auroras” to occur.

4) SPACE POLLUTION

There are currently more than 3,000 non-functioning satellites orbiting the Earth, in addition to other leftover items like empty fuel tanks and miscellaneous spacecraft parts. These proliferating debris could cause problems for the satellites we have come to depend on.

5) GLACIERS

Sea ice (a.k.a., glaciers) protects vast areas of our oceans from the sun’s rays by reflecting heat back into space. However, as human-made industry and ecosystem dysregulation occurs, the Earth’s atmosphere warms and melts our glaciers, causing rising sea levels.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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