An award-winning film about dinosaurs and the people who love them
Why Dinosaurs?, created by Earth Sciences PhD student James Pinto, and his filmmaker father, Tony.
Film Description:
From prestigious museums and universities, to blockbuster films, amusement park rides, video games, and toys–dinosaurs have always fascinated us. But, why?
WHY DINOSAURS follows dino-obsessed youth James Pinto and his filmmaker father Tony on a journey around the globe, interviewing world-renowned paleontologists about the latest dinosaur research, digging up 150-million-year-old bones, and encountering dinosaur fanatics of all walks of life. Together they track down the filmmakers behind Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, see the world’s largest dinosaur toy collection, and attempt to discover why everybody loves dinosaurs!
Production Highlights
- 7 years in the making, despite Covid-19 and other setbacks.
- 65 interviews; 35 hours of content.
- Filmed across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, China, and Morocco, mostly by a 2-person crew of first time filmmakers, Tony & James Pinto (father and teenage son).
- Hosted screenings and Q&A panels at museums, universities, and dinosaur festivals around the world, including:
– The Smithsonian Institute – National Museum of Natural History (May 2025)
– California Academy of Sciences (March 2025)
– Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (sch. September 2025)
– Annual meeting of Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP)
– Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (Canada)
– Museum of the Rockies (Montana)
– Lyme Regis Museum / Fossil Festival (UK)
– Bristol Aquarium (UK)
– Clark Planetarium (Utah)
– Alabama Natural History Museum / University of Alabama
- 7 FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS plus multiple nominations and official selections:
– WINNER – Best Documentary Feature – Wyoming Int’l Film Festival
– WINNER – Best Documentary Feature – South Dakota Film Festival
– WINNER – Best Documentary Feature – Marina del Rey Film Festival
– WINNER – Best Documentary Feature – KIDS International Family Film Festival
– WINNER – Best of Ventura County – SIMI Film Fest
– WINNER – Industry Award: Amateur Documentary – Raw Science Film Festival
– WINNER – London Director Awards – Feature Doc
– WINNER – Best Original Score for a Documentary – International Film Music Critics Association
– WINNER – Best Poster – Athens International Film Festival
– NOMINEE – Best Futurewave Feature – Seattle Int’l Film Festival
– NOMINEE – Liverpool Indie Awards
– OFFICIAL SELECTION – Newport Beach Film Festival
Mission
WHY DINOSAURS is inspiring future scientists–not just paleontologists–to follow their passion into various STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) using dinosaurs as the hook. This multi-award-winning film has been praised at natural history museums, science centers, and schools throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.
WHY DINOSAURS will soon be distributed on PBS as we continue our worldwide live and virtual screening tour, bringing thousands of people into museums and talking face-to-face with working paleontologists.
For more information, please check out the documentary’s website: