Event Detail

These five films investigate the rugged yet stunning landscape Missoulians (and thousands of other wild species) call home: the American West.

The Path Back
5 minutes, Directed by Neil Losin, US
For thousands of years, the buffalo or plains bison (Bison bison) sustained the many native tribes that inhabited the Great Plains region of North America. But when Europeans arrived in the area, they nearly exterminated the buffalo and an indigenous way of life. In recent years, however, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana's Fort Peck Reservation have joined with other tribal groups throughout the region to bring buffalo back to their ancestral lands and into their lives.

A New Message for Smokey
9 minutes, Directed by Joseph Leibrecht, US
Forest fires across North America are as natural as sunshine and rain, and have been burning regularly since the end of the last ice age. Not only are large fires natural, they create needed habitat for many plants and animals. Contrary to the story told by the media, politicians, timber industry, and US Forest Service that large fires are common and destructive, they actually are rare, and restorative to our forests.

Dodging Extinction: The Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program
10 minutes, Directed by Douglas Canfield, US
In 1979, black-footed ferrets were believed to be extinct. In 1981, a ranch dog discovered a ferret in Meteetse, WY. This led to the discovery of a small population and the first recovery program. Today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and its many partners are leading an effort to take ferrets off the Endangered Species List.

Last Call
12 minutes, Directed by R.C. Cone, US
Few places are more tightly bound to their rivers than Paradise Valley, Montana, where the Yellowstone River flows out of America’s most iconic National Park and begins its journey across the country. Join a fourth generation Paradise Valley rancher, BBQ and bakery owners freshly transplanted from Georgia, a lodge owner, a naturalist, a fly fishing guide, a sitting U.S. senator, and an iconic musician as they come together to protect the Yellowstone River ecosystem from a proposed gold mine. With original score and narration by Bill Payne of Little Feat, LAST CALL brings you into the heart of a community as they work to maintain the river that connects them all.

Drive Them Buffalo
18 minutes, Directed by Daniel Glick, US
An intimate look at the only indigenous tribal-led buffalo drive in North America, DRIVE THEM BUFFALO follows members of the Blackfeet Nation as they experience the power of the American bison while driving their herd through rough terrain and hostile weather to their winter pasture -- a rare ritual of stewardship that brings hope for a cultural rebirth.