Join us Thursday, November 14, at 6 pm, for Douglas Trumbull’s Silent Running (1972, US, 89 min., 35mm to digital transfer), which screens as part of our Nature’s Underworld Film Series, featuring eight films inspired by the exhibition Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld.

In the not-so-distant future, Earth is barren of all flora and fauna, with what remains of the planet’s former ecosystems preserved aboard a fleet of greenhouses orbiting in space. When the crews are ordered to destroy the remaining specimens, one botanist, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern, The ’Burbs), rebels and flees towards Saturn in a desperate bid to preserve his own little piece of Earth that was, accompanied only by the ship’s three service robots. Featuring a captivating central performance by Dern, visual effects that rival anything in 2001 and a powerful ecological message, Silent Running is a haunting and prescient sci-fi classic that resonates even more strongly today than it did at the time of its original release.

About Nature’s Underworld Film Series

Nature’s Underworld Film Series features both popular Hollywood cinema and experimental work that examine humankind’s strained relationship with the environment and is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld. Dion and Rockman, both film lovers, have cited many of these films as sources of inspiration.

About Nature’s Underworld Film Series

Nature’s Underworld Film Series features both popular Hollywood cinema and experimental works that examine humankind’s strained relationship with the environment. The series is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld. Dion and Rockman, both film lovers, have cited many of these films as sources of inspiration. The series includes a special screening of Life of Pi (2012) on September 30, at which Alexis Rockman will introduce the film and talk about his experience working on it.

Nature’s Underworld Film Series Screenings

– Thursday, September 12, 6 pm: The Birds (1963)

– Tuesday, September 17, 6 pm: A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)

– Monday, September 30, 6 pm: Life of Pi (2012)

– Thursday, October 17, 6 pm: Night of the Hunter (1955)

– Thursday, October 24, 6 pm: La Jetée (1962) and Weekend (1967)

– Thursday, November 14, 6 pm: Silent Running (1972)

– Thursday, November 21, 6 pm: Last Things (2022)

All screenings are free and open to the public.