The Outside Circle: A Movie of the Modern West tells the stories of Len Babb—a lifelong buckaroo and accomplished western artist, the Murphy family—fifth generation Oregon ranchers fighting to preserve their land and legacy, and Victoria Jackson—a Paiute-Shoshone rodeo champion whose family legacy in the Great Basin reaches back over 14,000 years. 

Determined to preserve their heritage, traditions, and livelihoods far from the cultural, political, and economic centers of wider America - on what working cowboys call The Outside Circle—the narratives find a common thread in their modest adherence to the values that have sustained them against the odds: faith, family, friends, and community. Set in some of the most remote and beautiful regions of the American West, The Outside Circle tells a story of ardent optimism against the raging tempests of our age.

Screening followed by conversation with director, Craig Rullman.

The What is a Western? Film Series explores the wide range of movies that can be considered Westerns, and the ways in which they shape our understanding of the American West. Each screening includes a guest lecturer who will introduce the film and explain its significance in the genre.