High Plains FilmsA project of Big Sky Pictures, LLC
Watch on Apple TVBuy DVD from MVD VisualRent/Buy from Bullfrog Films

VARMINTS

91 minHi81998

“A Classic.”

High Country News

“VARMINTS will have you rooting for the underdog.”

Matt Groening

“Opening with a scene that plays as if Walt Disney's VANISHING WILDERNESS was remade by the Farrelly Brothers (THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY), in which yahoos wearing 'Explode them Dogs' buttons use high-powered rifles to play pop goes the prairie dog, Hawes-Davis' VARMINTS explores the conflicting morass surrounding the endangered (or non-endangered), keystone species (or pest), better forage producing (or forage destroying) cuddly rodents known as prairie dogs. A thought provoking microcosmic look at a situation that will invite discussion on larger, more general, issues.”

Video Librarian

“It's hard to forget, or forgive, the prairie dog "recreational shooters" seen in VARMINTS, who sit at tables and take target practice on the rodents a quarter mile away. Doug Hawes-Davis, director of this informative and sometimes gory nature film, is ecumenical enough to include their commentary, along with that of ranchers and scientists, debating the role of the creatures, burrowing menaces to some and cuddly ecosystem cogs to others.”

The Oregonian

—911 Media Arts Center/Seattle, Washington
—Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center
—Boulder Theater/Boulder, Colorado
—Charleston Documentary Film Festival
—Columbus Film Festival/Columbus, Ohio
—Cornell Environmental Film Festival
—Crystal Theater/Missoula, Montana
—DUTV/Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
—Eckerd College Environmental Film Festival
—Emerson Cultural Center/Bozeman, Montana
—Equinox Film Festival
—Far North Conservation Film Festival
—Fitchburg Access Television/Fitchburg, Massachusetts
—Fort Belknap College
—Great Plains Film Festival
—HTVC/Helena, Montana
—International Wildlife Film Festival
—KBDI/Denver, CO
—KCSM/San Mateo, CA
—Kentucky Educational Television
—KLCS/Los Angeles, California
—KTWU/Topeka, Kansas
—Leominster-Lunenburg Access Television, Massachusetts
—Metro Cinema/Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
—Museum of Northern Arizona
—Myrna Loy Theater/Helena, Montana
—North American Prairie Conference
—Northwest Film & Video Festival
—Okomedia Film Festival/Frieburg, Germany
—Okomedia International Environmental Film Festival/Beijing, China
—Proscenium Theater/Tucson, Arizona
—Roxy Theater/Missoula, Montana
—Siskiyou Environmental Film Festival
—Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
—Student Center-Naropa University/Boulder, Colorado
—Subversive Pillow Theater/Eugene, Oregon
—True/False West Film Festival/Bellingham, Washington
—University of Colorado/Boulder, Colorado
—University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill
—University of Oregon
—University of Wyoming
—Vermont International Film Festival
—Webster University Film Series
—West Glacier Community Building/West Glacier, Montana
—WNED/Buffalo, New York
—WNMU/Marquette, Michigan
DirectorDoug Hawes-Davis
ProducerDoug Hawes-Davis
Associate ProducerJennifer Ferenstein
Camera & SoundDru Carr
Additional CameraDoug Hawes-Davis
Additional CameraFranz Camenzind
EditorDoug Hawes-Davis
MusicNed Mudd
MusicThe Incontinentals
FundingFund for Wild NatureBen & Jerry's FoundationNorcross Wildlife Foundation
Special Jury Prize for Extraordinary Achievement, 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival
Best Conservation Message, 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival
1st Place, Environmental Issues Category, 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival
1st Place, Point of View Category, 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival
Merit Award for Investigative Journalism, 22nd International Wildlife Film Festival
Bronze Medal, Columbus Film Festival
2nd Place Best of Category, Santa Cruz Environmental Film & Video Festival
Jan 6, 1998
VARMINTS Crystal Theater poster from 1999.
VARMINTS Crystal Theater poster from 1999.
Aug 8, 1997
Dru Carr & Doug Hawes-Davis by Ford Econoline "Production Van" in 1997, South Dakota.