Klamath Riverkeeper Presents: The 2009 Klamath River Film Series May 3-23

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)
http://www.klamathriver.org