Director/Producer/Editor Gail Mallimson has been working in documentary film as a producer and editor for over 15 years. When she first moved to San Francisco from New York in 1996, she visited San Bruno Mountain and was smitten by its beauty and amazed that such a place could exist just moments from a major city. When she learned of the mountain’s political past, she was determined to get the word out about how this beautiful mountain’s biodiversity had been compromised, and how that compromise had affected endangered species across the country. As she filmed and researched the topic, Gail became more aware of its wider relevance and importance. Scientists estimate that 40% of the earth’s species have died out in the last 25 years. These numbers reflect an altering of the very fabric of life on our planet, a startling fact that The Edge of the Wild brings home for viewers in a real way.  

Gail met Michele Salmon while researching the film. Michele’s story was striking, as her family had lived on San Bruno Mountain for generations. Her dedication to preserving the natural environment she grew up in moved Gail, and the two agreed to work together. While The Edge of the Wild is Gail’s creation, the story is told through Michele’s eyes, and is a touching tribute to a lost era of pristine nature as well as a story about local democracy and nature preservation.