Save the Yellowstone Grizzly will screen its new film, “Return of the Grizzly,” on Thursday, February 1, at the Wilma Theater in Missoula, Montana. The 37-minute documentary follows the path and challenges facing explorer bears, the young males bears who pioneer new habitats. “Return of the Grizzly” is narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges, and scored by pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat. It features archival and never-before-seen grizzly footage by Doug Peacock. Free and open to the public, doors open at 6 pm, film at 7 followed by a Q&A, and music at 8:30.

Blackfeet storyteller and flutist Teague Goodvoice will open the evening. Guest speakers include Rick Bass (author and Save the Yellowstone Grizzly board member), James Holt (film participant and executive director of the Buffalo Field Campaign), Jamie Jonkel (film participant and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Bear Management Specialist). The celebration will include a Bear Fair featuring a dozen conservation groups. Patagonia will be in attendance printing t-shirts.

In addition, Imagine Nation Brewing has made a “Return of the Grizzly” pale ale; the Missoula Art Museum is sponsoring an exhibition of projected art by Lauren Strohacher and Kendra Sollars; Flash Panda will round out the evening with their psychedelic-tinted Americana, along with a guitar performance on the Montana Project instrument made from an old growth spruce from the ancient forest of the Yaak Valley.

The Celebration of the Grizzly is co-sponsored by the Sierra Club, Patagonia, International Wildlife Film Festival, Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Task Force, Footloose Montana, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Imagine Nation Brewing, Lauren Strohacker, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula for Bears, Montana Sierra Club, Wildlife Society, WildEarth Guardians, Wilderness Watch, Worden’s, and Working Dogs for Conservation.