Florida Environmental Film Festival

We are honored that Down by the Riverside has been selected to screen at the Florida Environmental Film Festival.

We are looking forward to sharing this message of hope around the country and the world, building river-to-river connections, and inspiring people to think about how they can devise innovative and creative solutions to solve local and global problems.

We are thrilled to announce that Down by the Riverside had its Rust Belt Premiere in Athens, Ohio. The screening took place on Friday, April 12th at the Athena Cinema. The event opened with a video intro featuring legendary guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jorma Kaukonen, who reflected on Pete Seeger and the Clearwater movement. The highlight of the event was meeting Jorma’s incredible spouse Vanessa Kaukonen, who runs Fur Peace Ranch and the beautiful River of Time Boutique and Gallery in Athens. Thanks to Vanessa, Jorma, and festival director David Colagiovanni for creating an unbelievable and unforgettable experience for us in Athens!

This was an especially significant screening for me. I am originally from a Rust Belt town in West Virginia on the banks of the Ohio River, and Dan hails from Michigan, just outside of Flint, so we have always dreamed of building river-to-river connections with communities like our own that have been hit hard by deindustrialization. Growing up on the banks of the polluted Ohio, I never even imagined that we could save our river. The environmental pessimism was built into the milieu. Meeting Pete and Toshi Seeger and members of Clearwater and the Beacon Sloop Club has transformed my perspective on what we can do when we work together. As Pete declared in 1969, “If there is hope for the human race, then there is hope for the Hudson.” 

I also have a unique academic connection with Ohio, having attended the incredible NEH Rust Belt Institute at Ursuline College in June of 2023. Through participating in seminars and events, I learned so much about the grassroots revitalization work in the Cleveland area. Amazing things are happening in Ohio, and we look forward to sharing this message of hope and opening up conversations about what environmental justice will look like in a post-industrial future. We are deeply honored that the Athens International Film and Video Festival included our message of hope among their incredible selection of programming this year.

-Jodie

Rust Belt Premiere Athens International Film and Video Festival

Michigan Premiere Capital City Film Festival

It was an honor to screen Down by the Riverside at the Capital City Film Festival in Lansing, Michigan on Sunday, April 14th with a live performance by Jen Sygit. We were especially impressed with the incredible team of festival programmers and the beautiful and creative venues set up all over town.

Dan is originally from Michigan and attended Michigan State University, so this was an especially significant return for him. Thanks so much to the Capital City Film Festival team of programmers and volunteers, Mike Hughes from the Lansing State Journal, who gave us a great write-up, Jen Sygit, and all the incredible fans of Pete Seeger who came out to support the film.