TERRA 804: Alpinas Maneras from TERRA on Vimeo.
A short non-fiction film exploring the human experience of international mountaineering. Shadowing a 2009 expedition to the Bolivian Andes with community based non-profit, the Montana Mountaineering Association, this film takes flight with a small team of students and instructors to better understand this cross-cultural experience.
Whiteout explores the mystery behind the White Nose Syndrome epidemic. Since 2006, over six million bats have been infected and died from the disease. Though it is still a mystery that befuddles many scientists, it is increasingly evident that these incredible creatures are quickly disappearing from the night sky at rates never before witnessed. We follow the filmmaker as she sets out to understand the vital importance of a healthy bat population and how our fate and that of the bats are more closely related than we may think.
How do you film wild animals that don’t want to be filmed? That is the question Emily Narrow faces as a student wildlife filmmaker in Bozeman, Montana. Trapped! is a short documentary film about remote wildlife cameras, and Emily’s attempt to use these cameras to connect with nature. The film follows her as she sets her first camera traps, and tries to get the kind of intimate portraits of wildlife that have eluded her so far. Trapped! takes a lighthearted look at Emily’s successes and failures at camera trapping, while highlighting the simple joy that comes from connecting with nature.
Athabaska in the Cree language translates to “Where There Are Reeds”, a geographic note of these first peoples’ early connection to Lake Athabaska and the surrounding terrain. Keeping with the tradition of pre-school wandering in the Canadian Rockies, join us as we explore glaciers and their significance from the unique perspective of climbing in the high alpine and glaciated environment of the Athabaska Glacier.
What happens when you combine the creative forces of three young artists on a mission to explore the alien nature of erosion in a Utah desert? You find yourself watching an experimental film that gives you the feeling that you’re actually part of the rugged and remote landscape of this extraordinary place. These guys know how to have fun while getting an education! Join architecture student Sam Ankeny, filmmaker Rick Smith and musician Leif Routman as they show us what you can achieve at university if you really put your mind to it.
Three alter-egos converge as (1.) Bob Perkins “the researcher”, (2.) Professor William Robert Perkins “the mad scientist”, and (3.) Atlatl Bob “the hunter,” give a humorous and multi-faceted account of mankind’s ascendant path to the top of the food chain. Though seemingly primitive, the “Atlatl and Dart System,” used by humans in pre-historic times, is remarkably complex in its design. With a minimum of effort, the atlatl hurtles darts at speeds close to 100 miles per hour. In turn, this behavior speaks volumes about the sustainable ingenuity of the hunter-gatherer age. In our present age of taxes, organized religion, and agriculture, perhaps there are still important lessons that can be derived from our far distant relatives.
Beavers are some of the great engineers of the wild kingdom. In Arizona, these toothy critters are hard at work along the Verde River, helping to restore this fragile river system to good health. They are creating dams and lodges that improve the habitat for otters, native fish and other species. People benefit as well because a healthy river system means good drinking water for the growing communities downstream.
In this program produced by Sharon Pieczenik, Erik Patel, a PhD Candidate at Cornell University, discusses his efforts to save Silky Sifaka lemurs in Madagascar. Ninety-eight percent of Madagascar’s mammals, including the rare Silky Sifaka lemurs, exist nowhere else on Earth. Because of their white fur, and their amazing ability to fly through the forest, Silky Sifaka lemurs are called ‘angels of the forest.’ But Silkies are one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates. If Silky Sifaka lemurs were to disappear from Madagascar, then they would disappear from our world. International scientists and local Malagasy conservationists are fighting for the survival of this exceptional species and its irreplaceable habitat.
As a hybrid of natural history documentary, art film, and political commentary, this film explores the complexity of fire management and fire ecology of the Northern Rockies. Shot completely in Montana, this experimental documentary showcases extraordinary footage of black-backed woodpeckers, boreal toads, and other fire-dependent species, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of fire command camps
