Filmmaker Curt Ellis of Brooklyn, N.Y., will present a screening of his new film, “Big River,” at Drake University on Tuesday, March 23.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in room 205 of Cartwright Hall, 2621 Carpenter Ave.
After the screening, Ellis will lead a discussion that will focus on filmmaking, the social movement emerging around food production and how to turn social activism into a career.
“Big River” is a companion film to Ellis’s 2007 award-winning documentary, “King Corn.” “Big River” reveals how water effects the environment after it rains on a chemically treated cornfield and makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico.
During his Drake visit, Ellis will meet with students on Wednesday, March 24. He will discuss filmmaking with students in the following classes:
- Environmental Regulation of Agriculture, taught by Neil Hamilton, professor of law, the Dwight D. Opperman chair of law and director of the Agricultural Law Center
- One Earth: Global Environmental Science, taught by David Courard-Hauri, associate professor of environmental science and policy
Ellis recently organized and moderated a film series “New Farmers, New Films” at the “Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers: Policy and Innovations and Opportunities” in Washington, D.C. He was among farmers, policy makers and stakeholders who participated in the two-day forum organized by Drake’s Agricultural Law Center to spark a national conversation on how to help create America’s next generation of farmers.
This screening is sponsored by Drake University’s Agricultural Law Center, Humanities Center and Environmental Science and Policy Program.
For more information on the event, contact Matt Russell at 515-271-4956 or at matthew.russell@drake.edu.