The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Sunday, December 7th, at 7pm at the Emerson with the Montana premiere of the critically-acclaimed new documentary The Tale of Silyan. Tamara Kotevska, Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland, tells the story of a white stork, Silyan, and a Macedonian farmer, Nikola. Their lives intertwine when Nikola, abandoned by his family, saves the injured bird from a landfill. As Nikola and Silyan form a bond, they find solace and companionship in each other's solitude.

The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Thursday, December 18th, at 7pm at the Emerson with the Montana premiere of the critically-acclaimed new documentary, Observer. In Observer, filmmaker Ian Cheney embarks on an experiment in which he brings a series of keen-eyed observers - scientists, artists, a hunter - to a range of locations around the world, often without telling them where they are going, and asks them simply to describe what they see. What unfolds is a deep exploration and celebration of the power of observation: what happens when you find new ways to sense & perceive the world around you? With customary whimsy and a small painted red square that Cheney brings on every journey, the film is an invitation to viewers to find beauty and meaning in even the most quotidian of locales.

On Thursday, January 8th, at 7pm at the Emerson Center, the Bozeman Doc Series continues with the the Montana premiere of the powerful new documentary, Yanuni.

A vivid cinematic portrait, Yanuni tells the story of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon who rises from a remote village in the jungle to being appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights. A fearless defender of her people and the rainforest, Juma has survived multiple assassination attempts while confronting illegal gold miners, land-grabbers, and multinational corporations threatening her ancestral land. At her side is Hugo Loss, her husband and the head of Special Operations at IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental protection agency. As Juma fights on the political front, Hugo leads dangerous operations to dismantle illegal mining camps deep in the Amazon—often under armed threat.

As Juma navigates political power, growing threats, and impending motherhood, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. At once epic and intimate, Yanuni is a powerful portrait of resilience, love, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fight to protect the world’s largest rainforest—for future generations and the planet we call home.

On Sunday, January 25th, at 7pm at the Emerson Center, the Bozeman Doc Series continues with the Montana premiere of the new documentary, Iron Winter.

In Mongolia’s coldest valley, horses mean life. But in the Iron Winter, nothing can survive alone. For countless generations, the herders of the Tsakhir Valley have protected their horses from ferocious arctic storms by amassing a giant winter herd, nominating their bravest young men to protect it. The daring tradition served as a brutal coming of age ritual, until five years ago, when under increasing environmental pressure, it abruptly ended. Fearful about the loss of culture, elders soon vowed to revive it. And two young friends were handed the daunting responsibility to not only protect the valley’s herd — but to save its most sacred practice. For four months, the boys battle Mongolia’s deadliest winter on record, testing friendship and faith in a fight to keep 2000 horses alive, and preserve an ancient way of life.

Iron Winter has screened at festivals around the world, winning several awards including the Grand Prize at the recent Banff Mountain Film Festival.

The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Thursday, February 5th, at 7pm at the Emerson, with the Montana premiere of the award-winning new doc, Remaining Native.

Ku Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner living on the Yerington Paiute reservation in northwest Nevada, hopes that his dream school, the University of Oregon, will recognize his talent and recruit him. But as Ku trains, he confronts unreconciled emotions as he recalls his great-grandfather Frank Quinn’s story. At only 8 years old, Quinn ran 50 miles across desert to escape an Indian boarding school. That journey becomes interwoven with Ku’s own ambition to not only run a collegiate-qualifying time but to connect past, present, and future. Ku sets his sights on recreating his great-grandfather’s flight to freedom, as the young athlete embraces his Native identity and runs with it, reconnecting with his family history.

"Utterly absorbing… both an inspiring coming-of-age story and impactful history lesson." Variety

On Sunday, February 22nd, at 7pm at the Emerson, the Bozeman Doc Series is proud to present the winner of the Grand Jury Award at Sundance, the excellent new doc, Seeds.

Interweaving the stories of three Black generational farmers to create a collective and intimate portrait of farming today, Seeds is a moving and powerful exploration of their lives, joys and struggles as well as the fragility of legacy and owning land.

With remarkable intimacy, the film documents their everyday lives—cotton harvesting, chasing cows, dealing with broken machinery, and financial precarities. The camera relishes simple moments—conversations through car windows, candy from grandma’s purse as it captures moments of warmth, joy, and fulfillment—turning them into striking vignettes that honor the families’ connection to the land and each other.

“A remarkable portrait of America's oldest Black farmers and the resilience they exhibit…an incredibly rewarding journey, a film indebted to the past that feels brilliantly alive.” Indiewire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaJ5ks_65r0 The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Thursday, March 5th, at 7pm at the Emerson, with the critically acclaimed new documentary, The Cycle of Love. In 1977, P.K., a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, ‘untouchable’ family, picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a 6000-mile cross-continent […]

The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Thursday, March 26th, at 7pm at the Emerson with the Montana premiere of I Was Born This Way, the new film from award-winning directors Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard. Junge, an Oscar-winner for the film Saving Face, will be in attendance and take part in a Q&A after the film.

When Archbishop Carl Bean sang the 1977 disco hit and gay anthem “I Was Born This Way,” it was just the start of his mission to create positive change in the world. He went on to found the Minority AIDS Project and the world’s first LGBTQ+ church for people of color.

Using innovative rotoscope animation and featuring appearances by Lady Gaga, Questlove, Billy Porter, and Dionne Warwick, I Was Born This Way is a feature-length documentary exploring the life and legacy of Bean and his resounding message “love is for everyone.”

The Bozeman Doc Series continues on Thursday, April 9th, at 7pm at the Emerson, with the brilliant new doc, A Life Illuminated.

A LIFE ILLUMINATED follows trailblazing marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder—one of the first women in her field and one of the first humans to explore the ocean’s twilight zone—as she descends 3,300 feet into the ocean’s darkest depths. From capturing the first-ever footage of the elusive giant squid to unveiling the glowing mysteries of deep-sea bioluminescence, Edie embarks on her most daring quest yet: to document a bioluminescent phenomenon that could forever change how we understand life on Earth.

On Thursday, April 23rd, at 7pm at the Emerson Center, the Bozeman Doc Series, in association with Gallatin Valley Earth Day, will present the Bozeman premiere of the brand new, award-winning documentary, Nuisance Bear. The screening will be preceded at 6pm by a reception in the Emerson ballroom with food and drink, our annual silent auction, and Earth Day information and opportunities from event sponsors.

Winner of the 2026 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary, Nuisance Bear is a powerfully moving and visually striking examination of the relationship between humankind and nature. A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape.