In a new documentary, “The River and the Wall,” filmmaker Ben Masters is joined by a small group of scientists and conservationists on a nearly three-month-long journey down 1,200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The project aims to show the beauty and variety of landscapes in the borderlands.
The film’s producer, Hillary Pierce, says the group travelled through the region’s most remote parts, in order to help people understand the damage a wall would cause to ecosystems.
"So many of the places that we show...are places that have never been seen on film," she said.
Pierce says “The River and The Wall” looks at the impacts a wall could have on species in the region.
The team found, for example, that a mountain lion population, diminished by trapping in Texas, is being sustained by lions crossing from Mexico. A border wall could wipe out the species in southern Texas.
Following the film’s screening at the Wheeler Opera House on Sunday, Hillary Pierce will join Jay Kleberg with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation for a Q&A.