Campuses:
Sunday, May 20, 2 p.m.
Bell Museum Auditorium
Cost: Free
One of Iceland’s most controversial films, Dreamland is a documentary about the politics, economics, and environmental concerns surrounding the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam in the country’s eastern fjords. The dam, along with the aluminum smelting facilities it can power, would help the country’s depressed economy, but Iceland’s rugged, pristine landscape is a point of national pride. Directors Þorfinnur Guðnason and Andri Snær Magnason ask, “how much unspoiled nature should we preserve and what do we sacrifice for clean, renewable energy?” Their answer is a bleak one in this film about the preservation of nature and growth of business.
The screening will be followed by a short, informational speech by Harvey Thorleifson, a professor at the University of Minnesota and director of the Minnesota Geological Survey, and an interview with director/author Andri Snær Magnason, who also wrote the book upon which the film is based.
This film is presented in partnership with the Icelandic American Association of Minnesota
In 2012 the Bell Museum's Sustainability Film Series explored sustainability issues around the world, through the powerful medium of film. From China to Brazil and Europe to Appalachia, the year's four-part film series took a global look at the impacts of large scale human activities on four landscapes and the people that inhabit them. The film series was presented in partnership with the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.
2012 Sustainability Film Series: Stories from a Changing Planet
February 2: The Last Mountain
March 1: Up the Yangtze
April 5: Our Daily Bread
May 3: Waste Land
In addition, the Bell Museum has a proud history of producing films, included Emmy-Award winners Minnesota: History of the Land and Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story. Learn more and purchase copies of the films here.