The Great Northern Climate Film Series
In partnership with MSP Film
The Great Northern’s Climate Film Series explores the human stories behind our changing world through powerful documentaries and narratives. From the enduring spirit of young climate activists in Future Council, to the disappearing Isle de Jean Charles in Lowland Kids, to the fight to restore wild bison to their ancestral lands in Bring Them Home, these films highlight the resilience and ingenuity of their subjects and the urgent challenges of climate change.
Each film offers a window into the profound ways humans connect with, influence, and adapt to the natural world. We hope audiences leave inspired, informed, and reflecting on local and national climate solutions.
Films
Tracing Sacred Steps
Brownbody
Brownbody blends dance, theater, and figure skating to create site-specific, Black-centered work. Tracing Sacred Steps is an experimental on-ice performance film inspired by Ring Shout, honoring its spiritual and cultural legacy while exploring pathways to release, restoration, and resilience in sacred Black spaces.
Harvest
Trust For Public Land
In Harvest, a middle-aged Black woman who has long felt uneasy around firearms steps into the remote forests of Minnesota for a mentored hunting weekend designed to expand and diversify the face of the hunting community. What begins as a tense, unfamiliar experience becomes a powerful journey of courage, self-discovery, and belonging.
This is Not a Drill
Directed by Oren Jacoby
When their communities are threatened, three fearless grassroots leaders — joined by rebelliousRockefeller heirs — confront Big Oil and environmental racism in a fight for a renewable future,proving that everyday people can change the course of history.
Rooted: Stories from Minnesota’s Farming Future
Directed by Liz Tracy
Don’t miss the world premiere of The Great Northern’s first original documentary, Rooted. This documentary short follows the day-to-day lives of two Minnesota farmers, offering an intimate portrait of small-scale agriculture in the Upper Midwest.
Bring Them Home
Thunderheart Films
Bring Them Home follows members of the Blackfoot Nation as they fight to restore wild bison to their ancestral lands—a powerful act of cultural revival and resistance. Tracing the tribe’s history from near-annihilation to renewal, the film reveals a story of resilience, healing, and the enduring struggle for identity and survival.
A Life Illuminated
Directed by Tasha Van Zandt
Follow pioneering marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder, whose groundbreaking research on bioluminescence reveals the ocean’s hidden light. Overcoming barriers as a woman in science, Widder leads a new expedition with OceanX to capture this phenomenon like never before, illuminating both the deep sea and the human spirit of discovery.
Lowland Kids
Directed by Sandra Winther
Lowland Kids follows the last two teenagers of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, as rising seas threaten their ancestral home. They navigate loss and climate displacement as participants of the first federally funded relocation of America’s First Climate Refugees. The film follows their struggle to find home in a vanishing landscape.
The Future Council
Directed by Damon Gameau
In The Future Council, director Damon Gameau takes eight young climate activists on a biofuel-powered journey across Europe to meet global leaders and corporate giants. Their mission: to turn protest into progress. This uplifting adventure follows their creation of a “Future Council,” reimagining how youth can shape a sustainable world.
ARCO
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu
A magical and beautifully animated journey through time, Arco is a dazzling adventure about a 10-year-old boy from a peaceful, distant future who accidentally travels back to the year 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As Arco develops a charming and touching friendship with a young girl named Iris, they band together and along with her trusted robot caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco home, while the two children may also be the only ones who can save our planet.
Special Screening + Director Panel
See the debut of Rooted: Stories from Minnesota’s Farming Future
Don’t miss the world premiere of The Great Northern’s first original documentary, Rooted. Directed and produced by Liz Tracey, this documentary short follows the day-to-day lives of two Minnesota farmers, offering an intimate portrait of small-scale agriculture in the Upper Midwest. Rooted is a love letter to land stewardship and climate resilience, reminding us that local solutions can respond to global challenges and model a more sustainable food future for all.
Schedule
Frequently Asked Questions
No, entry to the film series is not included with a festival pass. Each film in the series is ticketed separately and requires a paid ticket for admission. You do not need a festival pass to attend a film.
The film series will be held at The Main Cinema, located at 115 SE Main St, Minneapolis, MN 55414. All screenings will take place in this location unless otherwise noted in the program schedule. Please check the festival website or your ticket confirmation for specific screening times and any venue updates.
Tickets for the film series are available exclusively through The Great Northern’s ticketing platform, Eventeny. Tickets are not available through The Main Cinema’s website. You can purchase tickets online via Eventeny or by following the link on each event page.
Presented in partnership with MSP Film
Since 1962, MSP Film has served as an arts nonprofit, bridging cultures and building community by curating international and independent film for all Minnsotans, year-round at The Main Cinema.
