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Klamath Riverkeeper Presents: The 2009 Klamath
River Film Series May 3-23
The Klamath Riverkeeper announces that Upstream Battle, a
new film documenting Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk, and Klamath Tribal
members working for Klamath dam removal, will be shown in
seven Klamath basin communities this May as part of Klamath
Riverkeeper’s 2009 Klamath River Film Series.
All screenings will be followed by a question and answer
session with German writer/director Ben Kempas as well as
local people who appear in the film.
Upstream Battle inspired two packed houses at the Ashland
Independent Film Festival in April and has been critically
acclaimed at film festivals worldwide. The Klamath River
Film Series will feature award-winning film River of Renewal
from May 20th-May 23rd.
All shows will screen at 7 pm. Admission is by sliding-scale
donation $5-$20. No one will be turned away for lack of
funds, and work-trade volunteers are welcome.
More information on the 2009 Klamath River Film Series,
venues, and films at
http://www.klamathriver.org/films
or by calling 541-488-3553. Posters and press releases
available on the website.
Co-sponsors include the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, SOU's
Native American Student Union and OIT's Sustainability Club.
2009 Klamath River Film Series Schedule
http://www.klamathriver.org/films
Contact: Malena Marvin (541) 821-7260,
malena [at] klamathriver.org
Upstream Battle screenings:
May 3 | Klamath, Yurok Tribal Building, 190 Klamath Blvd.
May 4 | Arcata, Humboldt State University, Science B, Room
135
May 5 | Hoopa, Hoopa Valley High School, 11400 State Highway
96
May 6 | Orleans, Panamnik Building, 38150 Hwy 96,
co-sponsored by the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council
May 7 | Ashland, Southern Oregon University, Student Union
Arena, co-sponsored by the Native American Student Union
May 8 | Klamath Falls, Oregon Institute of Technology,
Campus Union Auditorium
May 9 | Yreka Location TBA
River of Renewal screenings:
River of Renewal shows one of the great rivers of America in
crisis. It tells the story of Jack Kohler, an urban Indian
who finds his roots among the Klamath River tribes.
May 20 | Chiloquin, Klamath Tribal Building Auditorium
May 21 | Klamath Falls, Oregon Institute of Technology
Campus Union Auditorium
May 22 | Yreka, Location TBA
May 23 | Happy Camp, Location TBA
From
http://www.upstreambattle.com:
"Since the beginning of time," they've been living along the
Klamath River, in the far north of what's today called
California. The Karuk, Yurok and Hoopa are among the few
tribes in the United States who have managed to keep their
traditions alive. Their culture is centered around a
majestic fish: the Pacific salmon.
A hundred years ago, up to a million salmon would swim
upstream to their spawning grounds each year. Today, only a
few thousand return to the river. Four large hydroelectric
dams cut off their path and turn the water into a toxic
soup. In 2002, in one of the worst fish kills ever recorded
in the U.S., almost 70,000 adult salmon died in front of the
eyes of the Native Americans.
"If they're sick, we're sick," says Merv George, paddling in
his dugout redwood canoe. Once again, the tribes' existence
is in jeopardy. Their position is clear: for the fish to
survive, the dams have to go. While the rest of the world
considers the construction of ever larger hydroelectric
plants, this could become the story of the biggest dam
removal project in history.
Managers at PacifiCorp, the dams' operators, praise
hydropower as a low-cost, climate-friendly source of energy,
a valuable resource they say they couldn't afford to lose.
"We're just borrowing water and returning it to a river,"
Toby Freeman claims. But now they are in trouble, too - the
long-term license for the hydro project needs to be renewed.
Conditions of such a license will be very expensive for the
company - maybe too expensive.
For tribal members like Merv, this is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity. Their quest to confront the owners of the dams
leads them to a global energy giant in far-away Scotland.
The anonymous corporation finally shows a human face, but
soon after, it is sold again. PacifiCorp and the Klamath
River dams are now part of the empire of Warren Buffett.
Will tribal members manage to persuade the richest man in
the world to save their salmon and their culture?
For almost two years, Ben Kempas closely followed key tribal
members, utility managers, irrigators and commercial
fishermen in their battle for a river. "I've found it
fascinating how determined they all are to find a solution
to a seemingly hopeless conflict," the filmmaker says.
"We've been witnessing how stereotypes don't stand the test
of time. And we've seen some astonishing alliances between
old enemies."
Malena Marvin
Outreach & Science Director
PO Box 897
Ashland, OR 97520
541.821.7260 (cell)
541.488.3553 (office)
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