Terra Draconis: Posterity And Prosperity Of Fossils In The Modern Age

Directors:

Writers:

Braeden Clete Meyer

Producers:

Run Time:

0:21:46

Awarded for the following Category(s):

Awarded Category(s)

Since its inception as a commercial interest in the 19th century, a growing debate has formed around vertebrate fossils to collect, research, and sell significant specimens on the world stage. In 1997, the most-complete Tyrannosaurus Rex specimen found to date, Sue, was auctioned off to the Chicago Field Museum for an unprecedented $8.3 million. In 2020 the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex named Stan sold for a record-breaking amount over three times the winning bid for Sue. Academic and commercial interests were baffled and have only worsened concerns over who should be able to own, study, and collect significant fossils in the modern age. The film documents the long-standing divide between a variety of interests involved in the ownership of dinosaur fossils in the academic, commercial, private, and legal sectors of multi-million dollar fossil markets. Following interests based in Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota (some of the "hot-beds" of fossil collection in the Western United States), the film involves the opinions and values towards the ownership and sale of fossils in the modern age for posterity or prosperity.

Submitter Statement

As a filmmaker and artist, his interests are guided by the relationships between people, the sciences, and their impact on and interactions with the world around them. The goal of his work is to elucidate and inform the public about the unique realms of science, natural history, and everyday life that can be observed through a scientific, cinematic, and ultimately approachable experience to bridge the gap between these often separated worlds.

Braeden is a documentary filmmaker and candidate for the MFA in Science & Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a Honors Baccalaureate and desires to merge his passions for the arts, sciences, and communicating prevalent issues in the natural world through compelling storytelling. Inspired by a life spent in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, he is most at home in the outdoors and hopes to share the same interest with a broad audience through film, photography, and science.

Key Cast

Other Credits

Cinematography: Braeden Clete Meyer

Terra Draconis: Posterity And Prosperity Of Fossils In The Modern Age

Braeden Clete Meyer

Braeden Clete Meyer

​

0:21:46

Submitter Statement