Join filmmaker Justin Grubb for a screening of his film HELLBENT and conservation discussion surrounding Hellbenders with St. Louis Zoo Hellbender keepers Patty Ihrig-Bueckendorf and Brittany Philips.

In a small rural town in Pennsylvania, the refuge of a rare salamander and the only source of clean drinking water for 700 people is threatened by the installation of a fracking waste injection well, prompting community members to band together and mount an epic fight for the rights of their people and nature.

Guest Speakers

HELLBENT director Justin Grubb is a wildlife filmmaker, photographer, published writer, naturalist and co-founder of Running Wild Media. Justin earned his B.Sc. in Biology at Bowling Green State University and his Masters of Biology through Miami University in Ohio. With years of international wildlife field research and formal/informal teaching experience, Justin combines these two fields with media to enhance science communication and conservation. Justin’s love for nature and passion for the outdoors has brought him to some of the most extreme habitats on earth to study and film critically endangered wildlife. Justin lives in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a 2017 Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leader, Term Member at the Explorers Club and a Nat Geo “Wild to Inspire” award winning filmmaker.

Patty Ihrig-Bueckendorf is a zookeeper at the Saint Louis Zoo, in the Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender conservation. Patty has been a Hellbender keeper since 2016. In 2014 Patty attended the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference and learned about the Hellbender Center at the Saint Louis Zoo, she fell in love with this amazing backyard conservation work and never looked back. Patty’s favorite part of the job is knowing the direct impact it has on wildlife. During her seven years at the Saint Louis Zoo, Patty has assisted in the release of over 9,000 Hellbenders into the wild.

During the summer of 2011 and 2012 Brittany Philips was an intern for the Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation at the Saint Louis Zoo. She knew from then on out she wanted to be a zoo keeper. Over the next 10 years Brittany worked with a multitude of species at a couple different zoos. Brittany also accomplished her Masters in Biological Sciences. In 2022 a full time hellbender keeper job opened at the Saint Louis Zoo and Brittany jumped at the chance to come back. Brittany loves to see how her job directly affects the species and the environment they live in.

THEATER POLICIES

All seats are first-come, first-served.

The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.

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