Jacob Burns Film Center · Focus on Nature Series

Aisholpan is a 13-year-old striving to overcome 2,000 years of history to become the first-ever female eagle hunter in northwestern Mongolia. In this most remote part of the least populated country on earth, eagle hunters are living examples of an exquisitely preserved tradition steeped in a deep respect for nature, forming deep, lasting bonds with the giant birds. With the support of her father and grandfather—and more than her fair share of steely determination—Aisholpan captures and tames her own eaglet and trains for the annual Golden Eagle Festival. Her next step is to hunt the animals that are vital to her people’s survival in the frigid winter, which will prove that she and her eagle can do anything the males can. Full of breathtaking photography of the Mongolian landscape, this is a spellbinding true story of female empowerment in a culture that’s deeply entwined with the natural world.

Otto Bell

Followed by Q&A: filmmaker Otto Bell and Teatown EagleFest cofounder Charlie Roberto with JBFC Executive Director Edie Demas

Otto Bell is a British film director and creative director based in New York. He has directed more than 15 short documentaries for brands like IBM and Philips, as far afield as Uganda, Japan, Egypt, and Vietnam. This is his first feature film. Charlie Roberto, a trustee on the Teatown Lake Reservation board, helped develop Teatown’s annual Hudson River EagleFest. An avid birder, he has been teaching nature and eagle programs at numerous Audubon societies, local schools, and Westchester County parks for many years.

From the month-long Jacob Burns Film Series:  

FOCUS ON NATURE

September 29 – October 27, 2016

This year’s Focus on Nature series includes a cross-section of stunning and highly original films about the beauty, power, and mystery of nature, and how we affect and preserve our world. Join us each week for a screening and discussion with special guests. We’ve got not one but two programs about the awe-inspiring insect world: Bugs, a culinary eye-opener and my favorite feature from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival (along with a conversation with world-renowned chef Mario Hernandez), and our family program, Learning to See, followed by a hands-on workshop at our Media Arts Lab. We’ll look closely at New York City’s Jamaica Bay, a valuable but neglected natural resource, and at what scientists are calling the Anthropocene Epoch in a film that reveals the indelible human footprint on our planet and the people working to address its impact. And we begin with a preview of the riveting new documentary The Eagle Huntress, one of two chronicles of how traditional Mongolian ways of living with nature are changing with the times. Plus an extraordinary exhibition of breathtaking photographs from Mongolia by photojournalist and filmmaker Hamid Sardar-Afkhami is on view in our Jane Peck Gallery throughout October.

—Series Programmer Karen Sloe Goodman

This series is presented in partnership with Scenic Hudson and Groundwork Hudson Valley and made possible through generous support from the Hoch family and the van Hengel Family Fund.

Focus on Nature Schedule – Members can contact Laura to RSVP for any of these film showings.  Please RSVP early, as ticket supplies are limited:

Learning to See  – Oct. 1 at noon – RSVP deadline – Friday, September 23

Taïga – Oct. 6 at 7:30 pm – RSVP deadline – Thursday, September 29

Anthropocene – Oct. 13 at 7:30 pm – RSVP deadline – Thursday, October 6

Saving Jamaica Bay – Oct. 20 at 7:30 pm – RSVP deadline – Thursday, October 13

Bugs – Oct. 27 at 7:30 pm – RSVP deadline – Thursday, October 20

Jacob Burns Film Center, 364 Manville Road, Pleasantville, NY

burnsfilmcenter.org