Film, discussion about world’s last remaining hunter-gatherer groups at CSU Oct. 7

Note to Reporters: Stills from the film and more information available at thehadzalastofthefirst.com

Colorado State University and the Fort Collins community will have a rare opportunity to preview a film that documents the lives of one of the world’s last remaining hunter-gatherer groups, the Hadza of Africa’s Rift Valley.

The Hadza, Last of the First will have its Colorado premiere in the Lory Student Theater on the CSU campus on Oct. 7. The 6:15 p.m. screening will be preceded by a 5 p.m. reception with the filmmakers, CSU President Tony Frank and University Distinguished Professor Diana Wall, director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at CSU.

Immediately following the screening, the film’s producer-director Bill Benenson will be joined in a panel discussion by Kathleen Galvin and Chris Fisher of the CSU Anthropology Department, as well as Alyssa Crittenden, a bio-cultural anthropologist who has worked with the Hadza since 2004.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for admission. Register at https://advancing.colostate.edu/HADZAMOVIESCREENING

The Hadza, East Africa’s last remaining hunter-gatherers, have lived sustainably on their land for over 50,000 years. Their foraging lifestyle characterizes most of human existence, and many consider the Hadza the oldest population in East Africa.  Due to modern-day encroachments, the Hadza’s land and way of life is currently under attack — and a vital tie to our evolutionary roots may be lost forever. 

The Hadza, Last of the First features Jane Goodall, Wangari Maathai, Richard Wrangham, Spencer Wells and Alyssa Crittenden, as well as the remarkable Hadza themselves.  The filmmakers seek to raise awareness of the Hadza’s plight, which is emblematic of land rights challenges faced by indigenous peoples globally, and to support measures making the Hadza’s land a protected wildlife corridor.

This exclusive screening of The Hadza is sponsored by SoGES and the CSU Office of International Programs.

For more information about the film go to thehadzalastofthefirst.com.