The Iowa Prairie Documentary Project is direct by Charlie Morris (of Iowa City), launched in August of 2025, and is really two projects in one. It’s a podcast/video project and a feature length documentary film. It is an all volunteer project.
Video or Podcast Interviews (or both)?
As a conservation documentary film director, I usually sit down and interview a subject for the movie for a full hour. In reality, only about 2 minutes of that interview will ever be seen in the movie. The remaining 58 minutes hold insights and information that are just as important, but they typically will never be seen or heard. At other times I interview people who have incredible knowledge to share…but they don’t want to be recorded on camera only via audio.
I decided with this project that the stakes for Iowa are too high…and that every bit of each interview should be available for anyone who wants to take the time to watch or listen to the full length interviews.
So what you will see is that for the folks that were okay with being on cam and voice, I will release the interview in video and podcast format. For the folks that didn’t want to be on camera, those are the ones that will just have a podcast release.
I will be releasing the podcasts and videos as soon as I am able to get them out the door. Being a self funded micro budget project, the timing will vary a lot.
Feature Length Documentary
The movie will premiere in Iowa in October of 2026. Run time will be around 90 minutes. I’ll be infusing all the things I have learned from the interviews over the course of an entire year into this movie. My approach to making the movie will differ a lot from my previous movies. In the past I have followed the classic conservation messaging formula:
- insightful interview with a subject matter expert
- evocative b-roll footage
- informative infographics
- repeat and close with a strong “call to action”
I have used that formula and it’s worked quite well. For this movie however, I am shaking things up. I am diving into this work with a more immersive and vulnerable storytelling approach. I feel that with how high the stakes are here in Iowa that more creative and experimental methods are needed to help an audience really connect on a deeper level. For me it’s about crafting a story that helps people reconnect with what they’ve lost and to help them want it back. The movie is not yet titled.
