The God Squad investigates the controversial Endangered Species Committee proceedings over the Northern Spotted Owl and 44 proposed federal timber sales in southwest Oregon. In May 1992, for the first time in history, the cabinet-level committee selected economic interests over the survival of a species. While the proceeding ostensibly focused on the owl and a limited number of timber sales, the controversy was a microcosm of a much larger debate concerning the fate of the Pacific Northwest’s old growth forests and the Endangered Species Act. The story-behind-the-story, as told in surprisingly candid interviews with President Bush’s cabinet members, their staff, witnesses, lawyers and people in rural communities in Oregon, is a fascinating cautionary tale for generations to come. Directed by Emily Hart, USA, 2001, 57 min.

Shown with Belly Boat Hustle (Sandra Swatzky, Canada, 1998, 6 min), a comic ballet about five competitive businessmen trying to escape their frantic city lives with a flyfishing trip in the mountains. They soon discover, however, that the outside world is not so easily left behind.

Cosponsored with the Department of American Studies and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Funded in part by a grant from the Cornell Council for the Arts.