23 hours ago
‘Rivers of Film’ Festival
**Writer and filmmakerJames Murray-White celebrates the Rivers of Film Festival he curated in Cambridge, working with local partnerships. James commissioned 10 short films as a catalyst for conversation and deeper thinking on rivers and water bodies and as a response to growing activism on water health and water care, meeting water knowledge with heart.**
> A friend, in a discussion about how ‘friends of rivers’ groups are rapidly forming around the UK, talked about this process as ‘dendritic’, and it does feel similar to how knowledge of mushrooms and underground fungi culture has emerged ‘above ground’ into human knowledge recently.
>
> As above, so below. And in the case of water, on ground, underground, bubbling up from way down, and always somewhere in between. Constantly in a flow within air. What an element!
>
> * * *
**James Murray-White is a writer and filmmaker linking art forms to dialogue around climate issues, whose practice stretches back to theatre-making.**
I designed and especially curated the Rivers of Film Festival in Cambridge to bring and commission films that focus entirely on river systems and water bodies the world over. In East Anglia, we are blessed with rare chalk streams, and as a University city, we have experts who work on oceans and international waterways. We also have a thirsty local demographic, eager for knowledge and community sharing, as well as the entertainment and impact value of films, particularly the documentary form.
The idea of commissioning short films that respond to different filmmakers’ local waterways and systems was a way to get out further than the River Cam. And my hope was this would start to draw together filmic responses in a similar way to how waters themselves flow towards each other and meet. A friend, in a discussion about how ‘friends of rivers’ groups are rapidly forming around the UK, talked about this process as ‘dendritic’, and it does feel similar to how knowledge of mushrooms and underground fungi culture has emerged ‘above ground’ into human knowledge recently.
As above, so below. And in the case of water, on ground, underground, bubbling up from way down, and always somewhere in between. Constantly in a flow within air. What an element!
At this time in human history, where we can easily see and measure human impact upon the planet, and information spreads quickly online and through our networks, there is a growing movement of activism on water health and water care. Rivers of Film was in part our response to that, meeting water knowledges and water care with heart, using the medium of film to bring audiences, makers, and experts — although we are all experts — together to share and learn.
Over two weeks, from 23rd September to 4th October 2025, we delivered 13 events across six locations, bringing cinema and community within Cambridge together in new and meaningful ways. This took eight months of planning, research, outreach, and project development.
‘Ocean’ Screening at the David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, as part of the Rivers of Film Festival, September 2025.
Our programme included many film screenings showcasing diverse stories and perspectives and hybrid events that combined film with interactive experiences — workshops and guided walks to help audiences engage more deeply with the themes (including ‘With our wet and scaly hands and feet’, a creative writing workshop looking at life in the watery fens, at Cambridge Folk Museum.
Repeat attendance was genuinely delightful — seeing people return for multiple events confirmed that our approach was resonating. It validated that this method of using film as a catalyst for conversation and deeper thinking about important issues was truly working. When people chose to come back for more, some attending as many as five events, it told us we weren’t just delivering screenings — we were building something people valued and wanted to be part of again and again.
We achieved this through unique partnerships with local venues, community organisations, and cultural partners, from separate colleges within Cambridge University, two museums (one university-funded and one publicly funded), through to a village ‘friends of the river’ group. These collaborations allowed us to reach different audiences and create events we couldn’t have delivered alone.
* * *
The 10 films commissioned for the Rivers of Film festival were:
* ‘Rise and Fall’ by James Roberts
* ‘Dart’ by Emma George
* ‘Remember to Remember’ by Vey Straker
* ‘Confluence’ by Tom Scott & Chris Mizsak (Bell Art Labs)
* ‘Flow States’ by Sarah Gibson-Yates
* ‘Ways of Water’ by Diana Scarborough
* ‘Tides’ by Amira Orr
* ‘Testing The Waters’ by Nigel Kinnings
* ‘The Sink’ by Alessia Mavakala
* ‘Avona’ by Charlotte Sawyer
Rivers of Film continues! There are two more screening opportunities to see the short films we commissioned and meet some of the filmmakers. We are partnering with the Cambridge University Library as part of the events programme within the Living Water exhibition, and at Cambridge Nature Festival. The screenings will be on Thursday 28th May (University Library), and then Thursday 25th June (Pembroke College). Future River of Film screenings are also being planned around the UK — including at the River Summit in Henley, September 2026 (date TBC), and again in Cambridge in the autumn. Invite us to your local cinema!
The Rivers of Film Festival included the award of the Clare Crossman Prize to one of the ten short films we commissioned. The prize was created in honour of Cambridgeshire poet and ClimateCultures member Clare Crossman, whose work had a strong focus on place and the natural world. Clare, who very sadly died in 2021, was one of the local team behind the Waterlight Project, celebrating the River Mel, a chalk stream. You can see a preview of the Waterlight film at the project website, and an edit of the full film will be available there soon. You can hear Clare reading several of her poems at her website. The Clare Crossman Prize was awarded to ClimateCultures member, poet, essayist and artist James Roberts, for his film _Rise and Fall_ – which you can see in full via his recent post for us about making the film: Rise and Fall – A Short Film-Poem About Connection.
### _You might also like to explore_
The Rivers of Film Festival returns! to Cambridge 28 May & 25 June, later Henley &&... climatecultures.net/portfolio/rivers-of-film...
#RiversOfFilm #Cambridge #LivingWater #UL #Pembroke1347 #Henley #rivers
0
0
0
0
