“Why Dinosaurs?” will come to Hillsdale before official release. Courtesy | Anthony Swinehart

They’re big, they’re bad, and they’re back. Dinosaurs are coming to Hillsdale’s campus with a free showing of the award-winning new Pinto Productions documentary “Why Dinosaurs?” at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 in Plaster Auditorium.

The 72-minute documentary is about dinosaurs, paleontologists, and the coming-of-age of James Pinto, son of the film’s producer Tony Pinto. According to Tony Pinto, hopes to get the next generation of students excited about science through the film.

“Our goal with the film at this point is really to inspire future scientists,” Pinto said in an interview. “And not just paleontology, but anybody who has an interest in the STEM fields.”

The showing is part of the D. M. Fisk Museum of Natural History’s 150th anniversary celebration. The film will also be followed by a Q&A panel including Tony Pinto, Professor of Biology Anthony Swinehart, co-founder of PaleoProspectors Rob Sula, and Jim Braswell, who was involved with the discovery of one of the Fisk Museum’s dinosaurs. 

Admission will be free, and viewers can digitally reserve seats at the showing at the documentary’s Eventbrite link or on the website whydinosaurs.com/watch. 

“Why Dinosaurs?” has won several awards, including best feature documentary in the Wyoming International Film Festival, the South Dakota Film Festival, and the Marina Del Rey Film Festival. Additionally, it was nominated for Best Documentary and Best of Ventura County at the SIMI Film Festival and Future Wave Feature at the Seattle International Film Festival. Tony and James Pinto were also together nominated for Best Emerging Filmmaker at the SIMI Film Festival.

Swinehart said he had passed up an opportunity to see the film by himself so he could watch it with others at Hillsdale. 

“Based on the trailer, it looks very informative and educational,” Swinehart said. “What I’m excited about is some of the interviews with some of the world’s top scientists who study dinosaurs and the new cutting edge technologies that are being used like molecular biology and chemistry.”

Following its screening at Hillsdale, “Why Dinosaurs?” will have a worldwide premiere on PBS. 

“It gives people the opportunity to see it before the rest of the world does,” Swinehart said. “And I think it’s pretty cool to have the actual producer there — the guy who actually filmed it and made it — and be able to ask him questions.”