Tony Heath and Kate Scott, founders of The Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center, are artists as much as they are activists. Their goal is to educate people about the Birdland Ranch Wildlife Conservation Area and surrounding areas, and support similarly minded creators.
Their upcoming “Three Films for Our Borderlands” screening is a testament to their work.
“With my husband, Tony, as an independent filmmaker, it provided the impetus coupled with the blessings from ASU filmmakers,” Scott said. “Having worked as a professional musician in another life, I understand the power of the artist’s voice, crossing boundaries, touching hearts and minds down pathways unforeseen.”
MAWC will host “Three Films for Our Borderlands,” a benefit screening of independent filmmakers at The Loft Cinema on Sunday, June 4. The three documentaries channel the rich biodiversity of the Southwest through the issues of border conflict and environmentalism.
The Loft program director Jeff Yanc explained the partnership between MAWC and The Loft for the upcoming fundraiser.
“Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center rented the theater to host the event as a fundraiser for their organization,” Yanc said. “We’re just hosting the event as the venue, and they’re planning the event.”
The three featured films are “Ducey’s Big, Stupid, Idiotic Boondoggle: A Shipping Container Wall?” “A Wall Runs Through It” and “Prayer Run to Save Oak Flat.” A panel discussion and Q&A with filmmakers will follow the screening.
“The Loft is a premier art film venue for consciousness-raising, progressive, independent filmmakers needing a platform to share their work,” Scott noted. “The Loft also provides an affordable space for small nonprofit organizations to host a fundraising event.”
Directed by Tony Heath, “Ducey’s Big, Stupid, Idiotic Boondoggle” is a short documentary that depicts the construction of the makeshift wall of shipping containers near the southwest border. It follows participants at Camp Ocelot, a base camp for the resistance movement, as they express their dismay with enraged yet witty humor.
The Loft described the nine-minute film as a collection of ironic stories and sentiments, especially for those living near the border. As the co-founder of MAWC and the spouse of Scott, Heath has developed similar content for the nonprofit.
“MAWC has actively assessed, amplified and documented the destruction of the borderlands with Tony Heath’s Border Wall Film series on the Madrean Archipelago Film channel on YouTube,” Scott noted. “His originally styled films share the stark reality of ecocide.”
“A Wall Runs Through It” is another nine-minute documentary from a group of students at the ASU School of Sustainability and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. The film also captures the stories of activists as they battle with Gov. Doug Ducey’s shipping container wall and its effects on biodiversity throughout the region.
From Makepeace Sitlhou, Trilce Estrada Olvera and Hakob Karapetyan, “A Wall Runs Through It” is a historic snapshot of modern environmental protest. The ASU filmmakers initially reached out to MAWC for guidance with their project on the container wall.
“I was only happy to help such a talented team so passionate about telling the...story,” Scott said. “There have been many voices along the borderlands for years crying out about the cultural, racial and environmental atrocities of the border wall and this film weaves it all together in a very compelling way. “
“Prayer Run to Save Oak Flat” is a chronicle of the Brophy Native American Club and tribal members as they work to save Oak Flat, a San Carlos Apache sacred site, from the Resolution Copper mining project. The group traverses a 60-mile run while uniting in prayer to save the site from destruction.
The 10-minute film was directed by ASU students Nellija Locmele, Tyler Bender, John Leos and Megan Swing. It expresses the duality of the human condition and how faith is channeled through the constraints of the body.
“Oak Flat has always been very hard to comprehend,” Scott explained. “When I saw ‘Prayer Run’ at ASU in April, it told the story through the San Carlos Apache youth and elders in a powerful way that needed to be shared.”
As a nonprofit, MAWC dedicates its efforts to preserving wildlife in the Madrean Archipelago/Madrean Sky Island region of southeastern Arizona.
The area is known for holding one of the highest diversities of animals, including mammals, birds, bees and ants, in the country. MAWC prioritizes this mission with an almost spiritualistic passion, seeing each step as a prayer to the earth and its wildlife.
“(Our) goal from day one was to create a ‘conservation area’ for wildlife, with a mission based on compassion and advocacy for wild animals, as well as to preserve a spectacularly scenic piece of habitat,” Scott said.
Three Films for Our Borderlands
WHEN: 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 4
WHERE: The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Boulevard, Tucson
COST: $10 donation
INFO: loftcinema.org
