Uncovering Animal Minds - Documentary Short, USA

Texas Premiere!

Animal behavior scientists offer new insights into the minds of other animals and grapple with the profound implications for animal welfare. This film investigates the sentient qualities of honeybees, chickens, and wolves.

​Josie Harris is a documentary filmmaker and freelance videographer with a background in biology and journalism. Her work focuses on science, nature, and the lives of other animals. She made her directorial debut with the short documentary UNCOVERING ANIMAL MINDS, which has screened at film festivals across the U.S. Josie is passionate about visual storytelling that sparks curiosity, challenges preconceptions, and makes complex ideas accessible to broad audiences. Through her work, she invites viewers to reconsider humanity’s place within the web of life—not as separate or superior, but as one species among many, sharing a deeply interconnected world.

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​Director Statement 
I’ve always been fascinated by the inner lives of animals—what they know, feel, and perceive. UNCOVERING ANIMAL MINDS was born from that curiosity and a desire to bridge the gap between scientific research and public understanding. With a background in biology and journalism, I’m drawn to stories that challenge long-held assumptions about nonhuman animals and invite us to see how they experience the world and derive meaning from their lives.

This film explores how scientists investigate animal sentience, a field that’s reshaping our understanding of intelligence, emotion, and consciousness across species. My goal was to make this work accessible and compelling without simplifying its complexity. The researchers in the film, who have dedicated their lives to the study of other animals, offer insights and perspectives that engage both the mind and the heart.

At its core, this film is an invitation to question our place in the natural world. It asks viewers to consider the possibility that we are not the only minds that matter—and that humility and wonder might be the most honest ways to approach the lives of other animals.