First Look: New Nature Documentary Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers

Austin-based nature documentarian Ben Masters has become the undeniable cinematic guardian of and advocate for Texas’ wildlife and wild places. Now he’s teamed up with another Austin moviemaking legend, Ethan Hawke, for a sequel to his jaw-dropping film, Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story, and we’ve got an exclusive look at the first poster and images from the followup, Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers.

Masters and his team spent three years patiently capturing footage of these species and their environments. The film is produced by Josh Winkler and edited by Sam Klatt with Chet Stefan as assistant editor. Masters’ longtime musical collaborator, Noah Sorota, provided original music, and the score is performed by Dallas Chamber Symphony. It will be released in theatres on September 25 in partnership with H-E-B and Texan by Nature. 

Life in the San Marcos River, as captured on film in Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers Credit: Fin & Fur Films

In 2022 Masters and his production company, Fin & Fur Films, got another local legend, Matthew McConaughey, to narrate the first film in the Deep in the Heart series. That was the culmination of four years of filming Texas’ astonishing menageries of wildlife, from the primordial wonder of the alligator gar to the burly majesty of snow-caked buffalo, the swirling flight paths of Mexican free-tailed bats to dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico,

For Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers, it’s Hawke behind the microphone, and the subject matter is given away by the adorable star of this poster. Ozzie the otter is just the first face to be highlighted from Master’s new feature, which takes a deep dive into the ecosystems contained within and nourished by the state’s streams and rivers. The filmmaker explained, “Most of my favorite memories are on Texas Rivers. I grew up on the Canadian, fell in love on the Brazos, got married on the Guadalupe, found adventure on the Rio Grande, and am raising my kids on the Colorado.”

The interlocking nature of life around the Lone Star State’s streams, and ponds, rivers and lakes, explored in Deep in the Heart 2: Texas Rivers Credit: Fin & Fur Films

Masters had already explored parts of the Rio Grande in his remarkable navigation of the border, The River and the Wall, and the Colorado in companion piece The American Southwest. Now Texas Rivers looks at how rivers like the Guadalupe, the Llano, the Neches, the Pecos, and the Sabine are teeming with diverse lifeforms like the alligator snapping turtle, the freshwater fatmucket, and Ozzie and his friends, while landlocked species like mountain lions and turkeys make their homes on their banks. 

The breathtaking footage also serves as a reminder that, if we want future generations to appreciate these animals, we must protect the waterways that they and we depend upon. Masters said, “Spending three years in cinematography gave me a newfound appreciation for how special and unique our rivers are.”

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