Science on Screen: Twilight of the Mississippi
Play Trailer

Welcome Week Deal: Free for Students!

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, in collaboration with the Bakken Museum, is pleased to present Science on Screen, an ongoing series of films paired with science lectures. The series is made possible through a grant by the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Film:

Twilight of the Mississippi
An ominous adventure down the most mischievous River in America, this travel documentary presents guerilla theatre-troupe Unseen Ghost Brigade as they build a raft and journey downstream, through the backwaters of the American Heartland. The Brigade encounters dangerous spirits and endangered species who embody the landscape from where they come: Winona LaDuke, Mark Twain, the Army Corps of Engineers—a patchwork of people that irreversibly shakes the foundations of the American Imagination in this timely vagabond tale. Step aboard on this unforgettable voyage into the future history of direct cinema.

The Speaker:

Przemek Bajer, PhD
University of Minnesota
Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology

Dr. Bajer's work focuses on understanding why some species of introduced fish become invasive and damaging in specific geographic regions, but not in others, and how this process might be controlled using integrated approaches. Studying the effects of regional hydrology, climate, and native species diversity on the recruitment of invasive fish, he uses telemetry to understand movement, reproductive strategies, seasonal aggregations and cognitive abilities of invasive fish to develop integrated and targeted management strategies.

The Topic:

River of Changes
The talk will briefly review the anthropogenic changes that have occurred in the Mississippi River (and other large rivers worldwide) over the last few decades, including the introduction of invasive species and recent efforts to control their spread and abundance.