TRAILER FOR THE AWARD-WINNING SHORT FILM THAT WAS EXPANDED TO BECOME THE FEATURE-LENGTH DOCUMENTARY BEING SHOWN

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 film will be preceded at 6pm by a reception in the Emerson ballroom featuring food, drink and info from event sponsors Gallatin Valley Earth Day, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Visions Service Adventures, the Montana Institute on Ecosystems, the Lone Peak Film Festival and others. The event will also feature the annual Bozeman Doc Series silent auction with items from sponsors such as Red Tractor Pizza, Whole and Nourished, the Element Hotel, Bodhi Farms, Reintegrative Massage and many more.

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. For thousands of years, polar bears have migrated along the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. Today, that ancient rhythm collides with a human world of tourism, surveillance, and control. Nuisance Bear immerses viewers in the experience of a polar bear forced to navigate tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as climate change delays the freeze and pushes bears closer to human settlements. When a sacred predator is branded a “nuisance, ” it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape. 

Nuisance Bear world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this January to widespread critical acclaim.

“Gorgeous…Avoiding the moralizing or the doomsaying of most nature documentaries, “Nuisance Bear” sometimes approaches a tone more akin to a fable, weaving history, mythology, and humanity together…one of the most visually striking films that you’ll see this year” Rogerebert.com

“Transfixing…both a nature doc and a haunting ethnographic portrait…a doc of lingering beauty, sadness, insight and even unexpected humor. ” The Hollywood Reporter

“The challenge of coexistence — whether between different peoples or between humans and animals — infuses every frame of Nuisance Bear, a beautifully shot and thoughtfully considered documentary…a riveting examination of the inability to bridge the gap between the human and animal worlds” POV Magazine

Doors open at 6:00pm. Tickets are available at the door or before the show online at www.bozemandocseries.org. This is the final screening of Season 11. The series will return for a new season in October.

IF YOUR ORGANIZATION IS INTERESTED IN BECOMING A SPONSOR OR TABLING AT THIS EVENT, PLEASE EMAIL JASON AT BOZEMANDOCSERIES DOT ORG.