A special public screening of the new PBS documentary Henry David Thoreau will take place Thursday, April 30, at the historic Metropolitan Theatre in downtown Morgantown. The evening will feature clips from the film, a live conversation with the filmmakers, and a post-screening VIP reception at The Co-Op benefiting two local organizations working to strengthen environmental stewardship and civic engagement.
With limited tickets available, pre-registration is strongly encouraged at http://thoreaumorgantown.com.
About the Film: Henry David Thoreau is the first nationally broadcast biography of this American original. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley for PBS, and featuring the voice talents of Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Ted Danson, and Tate Donovan, the film explores Thoreau’s most far-reaching and forward-thinking ideas: justice for all human beings; the health of our planet and the species it sustains; the quest for a meaningful life; the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs in the public square. Tracing those concepts into the 21st century, the film demonstrates how ideas – when taken off the page and into the world – can change everything.
About the Event: Film directors Erik and Chris Ewers join producer and Morgantown native Susan Shumaker for a special evening of clips and conversation at The Metropolitan Theatre, 371 High Street. Directly following the screening is an exclusive VIP reception with the filmmakers at The Co-Op, 125 Pleasant Street, with drinks and light refreshments.
Who was Henry David Thoreau? Henry David Thoreau helped define modern environmentalism and nonviolent resistance, yet his life has been obscured by myth. The author of Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” he was brilliant but flawed, idealistic but opinionated. Inspiring activists and reformers from Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. to Colin Kaepernick and Greta Thunberg. Thoreau was a scientist, a storyteller, a seeker of truth, and a fighter for our nation’s first principles, and his words resonate urgently with today’s challenges as humanity looks for ways to live in harmony with nature—and each other.
