Renowned documentarian Ken Burns is visiting Missoula this week to preview his upcoming film “The American Buffalo.” The documentary previews Thursday at the Wilma theater, followed by a panel discussion.
“Over the centuries, their grazing habits on the wide expanses of the Great Plains proved crucial to its ecology, the types of grasses that flourish there, and the other species that thrive alongside the buffalo,” the documentary explains.
According to Montana PBS, Burn’s new two-part, four-hour series journeys through North American history. It traces the bison’s evolution, significance to the Great Plains, its near demise, and its relationship to Indigenous people.
A post-screening Q&A will include Burns, writer Dayton Duncan, producer Julie Dunfey, historian Rosalyn LaPier and Jason Baldes with the National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal Buffalo Program.
Montana PBS is hosting the screening, which will be free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The entire film is scheduled to premiere on PBS in October.