Special Screenings – Return of the Grizzly

Great Falls, Montana | Thursday, January 11 | Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center | Doors 6:30pm –  Film 7:00pm | Guest speaker: Nick Gevock, Sierra Club Field Organizer, Northern Rockies Wildlands and Wildlife

Whitefish, Montana | Monday, January 29 | O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Calendar | Doors 5:00pm – 5:30pm | Guest speaker: Nick Gevock, Sierra Club Field Organizer, Northern Rockies Wildlands and Wildlife

Hamilton, Montana | Wednesday, January 31 | Rocky Mountain Grange #116 | Doors 6:00pm – Film 7:00pm  | Guest speakers: Michele Dieterich (Education Coordinator Bitterroot Bear Resource Committee speaking about bear awareness and securing attractants in the Bitterroot) and Maaike Middleton (director of Return of the Grizzly) | Music: Blackfeet storyteller and flutist Teague Goodvoice Co-hosts: Friends of the Bitterroot, Footloose Montana, Working Dogs for Conservation

Missoula, Montana | Thursday, February 1 | Wilma Theatre | Doors 6:00pm – Film 7:00pm – Music 8:30pm

Helena, Montana | Monday, February 5 | Myrna Loy Theater | Doors 6:30pm – Film 7:00pm

Return of the Grizzly premiered in Livingston, Montana last fall. The film explores grizzly bear tolerance and coexistence in the time of climate change.

The 37-minute documentary follows the path and challenges of the essential explorer bear, the innovative bear that comes from small, isolated core populations that generate them. Explorer bears have the personality traits that can lead to better relationships between humans and grizzlies.

Return of the Grizzly proves that, through coexistence and tolerance, humans and grizzlies can “learn” to live together as the Native Americans have done for thousands of years. The film is narrated by one of America’s most beloved actors and storytellers, Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges. It is scored by legendary pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat.

The film, directed by Maaike Middleton, visits with Native Americans, filmmakers, grizzly bear biologists, road ecologists, bear coexistence activists, wildlife photographers, and business owners. The film features archival, never before seen, grizzly bear footage by Doug Peacock.

The Return of the Grizzly was created and produced by Save the Yellowstone Grizzly and sponsored by Patagonia and the Sierra Club along with support from the Montana Film Office, the Natalie Orfalea Foundation, and Sound Color Studios. The executive producers are Doug Peacock and Dan Sullivan.