Faculty film chosen for the American Documentary Showcase

A documentary created by two UNT faculty members is one of 20 films chosen as an “Official Selection” for the American Documentary Showcase, a project of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The New Frontier: Sustainable Ranching in the American West was created by Irene Klaver, associate professor of philosophy and religion studies, and Melinda Levin (’92 M.S.), chair of the Department of Radio, Television and Film.
The film showcases how the high intensity/short duration method of cattle grazing — like that of the bison herds that roamed the Great Plains — may lead to healthier watersheds than traditional grazing methods, in which livestock stay on the same plot of land for weeks or months. During the next year, The New Frontier will be shown at U.S. embassies and consulates, offering a view of American society and culture to audiences around the world. The film also has screened as an official selection at New Zealand’s Reel Earth Festival, the premier environmental film festival in the Southern Hemisphere, and was an official selection at the Breckenridge Film Festival, one of the oldest in the United States.
It premieres this summer in Europe at the International Society of Environmental Ethics conference in the Netherlands, and in Africa at the International History of Water Association meeting in South Africa.

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