Sustainability Series: SAVING MES AYNAK & OUR LAST REFUGE

Watch Trailer Director: Brent E. Huffman (Aynak) & Daniel Glick (Refuge)

Saving Mes Aynak

Saving Mes Aynak follows Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Afghanistan from imminent demolition. A Chinese state-owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site, eager to harvest $100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins. Only 10% of Mes Aynak has been excavated and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself. Qadir Temori and his fellow Afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the Chinese, the Taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure. Saving Mes Aynak examines the conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity through the lens of the Afghan archaeologists and local villagers who work and live near Mes Aynak.

Our Last Refuge

This is the story of the Badger-Two Medicine, the sacred homeland of the Blackfeet Nation, and the decades-long struggle to protect it from gas exploration. Located at the intersection of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the Badger is an undeveloped expanse of mountains, ridges, river valleys, and wetlands. In 1981, the U.S. government illegally leased the Badger at $1 per acre for oil and gas development—without consulting the Blackfeet Tribe and without conducting a proper environmental review. One of the highest profile conservation efforts in recent history, Our Last Refuge is the first in-depth telling of this critical struggle.

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Running Time: 86 min86 MIN
This Film is Wheelchair Accessible