Francis Thicke is holding a film screening fundraiser for his candidacy for Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture.

The producers of the award-winning documentary film King Corn have released a sequel: Big River. Both Big River and an abbreviated version of King Corn will be shown Friday, February 19, starting at 7:30 p.m. on the 10-foot movie screen in Morning Star Studio’s ballroom, upstairs at 51 1/2 South Court Street on the east side of the Fairfield Town Square.

In King Corn college friends Ian and Curt plant one acre of Iowa corn and follow their harvested corn into the food system. What they find raises troubling questions about how we eat, how we farm, and the stuff we’re really made of.

In the Big River sequel, Ian and Curt track the trail of fertilizers and chemicals used to produce their acre of corn and discover how farm runoff travels through waterways to eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico, where that pollution causes an aquatic dead zone.

Friday night’s event will begin at 7:30 with a 50-minute version of King Corn, followed by the 30-minute film Big River. After the films Francis will spend a few minutes outlining his vision for a sustainable agriculture and food system in Iowa and will ask you to share your thoughts as well.

A minimum $5 donation is requested for the evening. Additional contributions are welcome.

More information on Francis Thicke’s campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture can be found at www.thickeforagriculture.com.

King Corn Trailer:

Big River Trailer: