By Shana Thornton
Inside the Customs House Museum’s Challenges & Champions Sports Gallery, you can look up into a skylight area and see a replica of a mountain climber. That climber, Ben Clark, became the youngest American to lead a successful summit of Mt. Everest. He was only 23 years-old, and he created an award-winning podcast series, The Rest of Everest, from the adventure.
Ben Clark grew up in Clarksville, graduated from Clarksville Academy, and will proudly tell you that he was and is fond of Dunbar Cave State Park. Ben’s connection to the land and its formations has informed his career, as the majority of his films are related to preservation and traversing harsh landscapes and climates.
He is also an ultramarathoner, setting records and creating films in the process. In Bhutan with a team of ultramarathoners and locals, Clark set a speed record on one of the hardest routes, while filming what would become an award-winning feature film, The Snowman Trek. According to his website, “Shot on small cameras, it was a first of its kind for such wide distribution on the silver screen. It was featured in National Geographic, Outside, Men’s Journal, Gear Junkie, 5280, Fox Sports, the Travel Channel, and other media outlets.” His current digital series, Run Around the World, is popular, appropriately, in many countries around the world.
The film PRESERVED was filmed over 130 days at Vermejo, Ted Turner’s reservation in New Mexico that includes 558,000 acres. “In this feature-length documentary, scientists, ranchers, and conservationists reveal how the seemingly impossible has been achieved here, from North America’s largest native trout restoration to the return of beaver, elk, and bison. Rich in discovery and layered with human history, Vermejo stands as the pinnacle of conservation in the U.S.—and a bellwether for what’s possible elsewhere.”
Watch CNN’s coverage of PRESERVED here: Nature rebounds on Ted Turner’s reserve | CNN
There is stunning cinematography in the film. Here’s a sneak peek of some stills from PRESERVED, all photography by Ben Clark:
The Tennessee Premiere of PRESERVED will be at the Customs House Museum in Ben Clark’s hometown at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.
Clark is donating the proceeds from the ticket sales to the Customs House Museum. The film screening is co-sponsored Austin Peay State University’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The premiere includes a catered reception, film screening, and panel discussion. Attendees can upgrade their experience by purchasing VIP tickets to an additional Meet & Greet Experience with the filmmakers, Ben Clark and Executive Editor, Mary Anne Potts, that will take place prior to the film screening. VIP Meet & Greet begins at 4:30 p.m.
Executive Producer Mary Anne Potts began her career at National Geographic at 23, ultimately leading its Adventure brand from print to a major digital presence. She later helped launch a Gen Z-focused video media company and brought her content expertise to Indigo Agriculture, telling climate-forward stories about farming, science, and sustainability.
Panel discussion after film screening includes filmmaker Ben Clark with guests from Clarksville/Montgomery County’s conservation efforts: Michelle Rogers, faculty member in APSU’s Center of Excellence for Field Biology and Biology Department; Dr. Dwayne Estes, Executive Director of Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI); David Britton, Park Manager for TN State Parks; JoAnn McIntosh, Chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club; and Dr. Rebecca Blanton Johansen, Professor of Biology and Principal Investigator for the Center of Excellence for Field Biology.
As part of the museum’s partnership with APSU’s College of STEM for this event, the Customs House Museum will hold an auction for a Conservation Helicopter Tour. This experience includes a 1-hour helicopter tour of the areas of conservation in Clarksville/Montgomery County and the surrounding area for two people with an expert guide on local conservation from Austin Peay State University. The winners of the auctioned helicopter tour will be flown by someone from APSU’s Aviation Science Program in a Robinson R-44.
Tickets
$35 General Admission ticket includes the catered reception, film screening, and panel discussion.
$50 VIP ticket includes everything in General Admission ticket and a Meet & Greet Experience with the filmmakers.
Both ticket options can be purchased online here: Register for Preserved Film
References:
Nature rebounds on Ted Turner’s reserve | CNN
bclarkmtn.com | Filmmaker & Explorer Ben Clark
Vermejo, a Ted Turner Reserve | Official Site
PRESERVED FILM | Preserved Productions
Bing Videos – The Snowman Trek Trailer
Shana Thornton is the Marketing & Media Manager and Managing Editor of Second & Commerce, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s arts, history, and culture magazine. She is an author and publisher, Founder of the Clarksville-Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail, and the Montgomery County Deputy Historian.