Filmmaker Ken Burns says national parks evoke strong emotions for families, and he taps into them in his documentary about America’s national parks.
Burns said during a visit to Maine’s Acadia National Park that the parks evoke “really powerful memories of families and these memories are as powerful as any they have had.”
The New Hampshire filmmaker has his own powerful recollection of visiting Shenandoah
National Park in Virginia in 1969 while his mother was dying of cancer. He told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday that he hopes
to convey people’s emotional connection to the land, as well as the history of the park system.
The six-part “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” will premiere Sept. 27 on PBS. Burns’ other films include “The Civil War,” ”Jazz” and “Baseball.”
On September 23, Burns, National Parks Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan, and NYC Department of Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will announce the National Parks Week NYC line up. The week will feature a number of special events throughout the city, as well as a public screening of highlights from Burns’ upcoming film.
