Henry David Thoreau Film Screening and Director Q&A

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public broadcast will take place nationally March 30, 2026 on PBS.

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Event date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Doors: 6:00PM | Screening: 7:00PM

Celebrate the release of HENRY DAVID THOREAU with a select screening followed by a Director's Q&A with Erik Ewers, moderated by Laura Dassow Walls.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, a new, three-part film directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, and executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, examines the life and work of the 19th-century writer in the context of antebellum New England and the larger United States, as well as through the universal themes he focused on in his writings: an individual’s relationship to the state, how to live an authentic life, our connection to nature, and the impact of race on American life. Set against the political and social tensions of the mid-19th century, the film traces Thoreau’s journey from his early days in Concord, Massachusetts to his deep engagement with the moral crises of his time, including industrialization, slavery, war, and environmental degradation.

The film draws on a rich collection of archival materials, newly filmed cinematography in Concord and beyond, and interviews with scholars, writers, and environmentalists.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU is narrated by George Clooney and voices are provided by Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Tate Donovan (William Ellery Channing), Jeff Goldblum (Henry David Thoreau), and Meryl Streep (Lidian Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Mary Merrick Brooks, and Maria Thoreau).

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS:

Erik Ewers: “Erik has been working for Ken — as he likes to say — “ever since The Civil War.” From intern to Senior Editor and Co-Director, he began his career in 1991 weeks after the miniseries had aired, and he has remained with Florentine Films ever since. For thirty-one years Erik has been a primary film editor on most of Ken’s films, including Baseball, Jazz, Lewis & Clark, Unforgivable Blackness, The National Parks, Horatio’s Drive, Mark Twain, Prohibition, The Roosevelts, The War, and more recently, The Vietnam War, Country Music, and Ernest Hemingway. Additionally, in 2005 Erik had teamed up with his brother Christopher to form a production company of his own; Ewers Brothers Productions.

Christopher Loren Ewers: Cinematographer and Co-Director Christopher Loren Ewers’ career behind the camera has spanned over 20 years. He studied cinematography at Boston University, photojournalism at the New England School of Photography and has traveled the world exploring the human experience through the lens. His eclectic work includes a variety of subjects, formats and collaborators from national networks like NBC, PBS and AMC to Fortune 500 brands like Apple, Coca-Cola and IBM. However, it’s the unique mix of both film and

ABOUT THE MODERATOR:

Laura Dassow Walls is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Notre Dame, where she taught nineteenth-century American literature, particularly the American Transcendentalists, and the history and theory of ecological thought. Previously she taught at Lafayette College and the University of South Carolina. She has written widely on Thoreau, Emerson, Humboldt, and related figures, and is best known for her award-winning biographies Henry David Thoreau: A Life, and Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America. She discovered Thoreau while growing up on Mercer Island and first studied his writings at the University of Washington. She worked as an artist and illustrator in the Seattle area before moving to Indiana, where she earned her Ph.D. at Indiana University. She now lives back home in Edmonds, Washington, where she is completing a literary biography of the American writer Barry Lopez.

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We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. To be respectful of those with allergies and environmental sensitivities, we ask that you please refrain from wearing strong fragrances. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

All event attendees are expected to abide by our Event Code of Conduct.

Major funding for HENRY DAVID THOREAU was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members: The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment and Mark A. Tracy. Major funding was also provided by Jeff Skoll, the Mansueto Foundation, Tyson Foods, Inc., and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Additional funding was provided by the Tyson Family Foundation Inc, The Neil and Anna Rasmussen Foundation, Roxanne Quimby Foundation Inc, Jim and Mona Mylen through The HeartSpace Fund, and Elizabeth Kenny.

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