International Rivers is excited to be involved with two films at this year's Wild & Scenic Film Festival. A River Runs Through Us and Patagonia Rising will be showing in two different water-themed film sessions. Buy tickets online now.

When: Friday, January 13, music at 5:45pm, show at 6:45pm
Where: Veteran's Hall, Nevada City, CA

and

When: Saturday, January 14, doors at 8:30am, show at 9:00am
Where: Masonic Hall, Nevada City, CA

Our Executive Director Jason Rainey, Africa Campaigner Lori Pottinger, and Patagonia Campaign Coordinator Berklee Lowrey-Evans will be in attendance. We hope to see you there!

Join us on January 7, 2011 to hear our Executive Director Jason Rainey speak about International Rivers' exciting plans for 2012, live on the air! Jason will be a guest on Sedge Thomson's "West Coast Live," a weekly two-hour radio broadcast that brings together writers, thinkers, comedians and musicians in front of a live studio audience. Imagine watching a radio show come to life right before your eyes!

Find out more information and get your tickets now!

When: January 7, 2011 from 10am to noon
Where: The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Theater, David Brower Center (map)

If you can't make it in person, you can always listen online!

Patagonia Rising has been selected as the featured film for the Closing Night Benefit of the Pacific Rim Film Festival in Santa Cruz, CA on Wednesday, October 19 at 7pm.

Filmmaker Brian Lilla and Berklee Lowrey-Evans of International Rivers will be there for a Q&A after the film.

About the film

Deep in the heart of Patagonia, Chile flow two of the world's purest rivers, the Baker and Pascua. Fed by vast glacial systems, these free-flowing watersheds drive biodiversity in temperate rainforests, estuaries and marine ecosystems. They are also the life source for Patagonia's most tenacious residents. Gauchos, the iconic South American cowboys, endure relentless winds and long winters on remote ranches in these river valleys.

Isolated and largely undeveloped Patagonia and its people are caught in a heated conflict surrounding a proposal to build five large hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers. Promoted as "clean" energy, the project's cultural and environmental impacts would forever alter the region. Alternatives exist. Clean energy experts are proving the viability of solar, wind and geothermal resources developed much closer to demand and infrastructure.

Over the past century more than 45,000 large dams have redefined the course and health of the planet's rivers with disastrous impacts that continue to unfold. Tracing the hydrologic cycle of the Baker from ice to ocean, Patagonia Rising brings voice to the frontier people caught in the crossfire of Chile's energy demands. Juxtaposing the pro-dam business sector with renewable energy experts, the documentary brings awareness and solutions to this global conflict over water and power.

About the festival

The Pacific Rim Film Festival is celebrating its 23rd year. For six days, from October 14-19, they will feature works from filmmakers spanning the Pacific rim: Japan, South Korea, China, New Zealand, The Philippines, India, Mexico, Australia and the U.S.

True to theme theme of "When Strangers Meet." the films have a mission to foster cross-cultural understanding and the festival strives to reach the broadest audience possible. All films are offered free of charge, with the exception of the finale benefit event.

• Find more info and buy tickets
• RSVP and invite your friends on Facebook

A River Runs Through Us will be screening as part of the UNSPOKEN Film Festival in Utica, NY on Thursday, October 13 at 3pm.

UNSPOKEN is an annual human rights forum that combines film, art, music, and a conference into one festival.  Held in Utica, NY in October of each year, this multi-faceted forum seeks not only to give a voice to human rights violations from around the globe, but also to offer practical solutions in order to shape a better tomorrow and give hope to the future.

• Find more info and buy tickets

Patagonia se levanta (Patagonia Rising) will screen as part of the Valdivia International Film Festival (FICValdivia) in Valdivia, Chile on Tuesday, October 11 at 8pm and Wednesday, October 12 at 10am.

About the film

Deep in the heart of Patagonia, Chile flow two of the world’s purest rivers, the Baker and Pascua. Fed by vast glacial systems, these free-flowing watersheds drive biodiversity in temperate rainforests, estuaries and marine ecosystems. They are also the life source for Patagonia’s most tenacious residents. Gauchos, the iconic South American cowboys, endure relentless winds and long winters on remote ranches in these river valleys.

Isolated and largely undeveloped Patagonia and its people are caught in a heated conflict surrounding a proposal to build five large hydroelectric dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers. Promoted as “clean” energy, the project’s cultural and environmental impacts would forever alter the region. Alternatives exist. Clean energy experts are proving the viability of solar, wind and geothermal resources developed much closer to demand and infrastructure.

Over the past century more than 45,000 large dams have redefined the course and health of the planet’s rivers with disastrous impacts that continue to unfold. Tracing the hydrologic cycle of the Baker from ice to ocean, Patagonia Rising brings voice to the frontier people caught in the crossfire of Chile’s energy demands. Juxtaposing the pro-dam business sector with renewable energy experts, the documentary brings awareness and solutions to this global conflict over water and power. 

About the film festival

The FICValdivia began in 1993 as part of the Movie Club of the Austral University of Chile to celebrate its 30-year history of filmmaking. In 1994 it was called the Valdivia Movie and Video Festival, and began to focus on a theme of environmental harm and how to find a balance between humans and the planet.

From then on, the project broadened its scope, and in 1998 became the Valdivia International Film Festival; diverse cinematographers from around the world have come to promote and share the best national and international films. The FICValdivia has become well-known in Chile and throughout the world, and is an important venue for film development. Over 4,000 films have been screened so far.

• Find more info and buy tickets
  

The party for wild rivers was a wild success! Here are the photos from the event:

A Party for Wild Rivers

Join International Rivers at the Lake Chalet in Oakland, California, as we celebrate our recent successes to protect the rivers of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and welcome our new Executive Director, Jason Rainey.

Enjoy sustainable and locally-grown appetizers, wine and cocktails under the stars at the East Bay's most scenic restaurant.

Friday, September 16
The party starts at 7:00 pm!

The Lake Chalet, 1520 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA

Tickets are $100.

• Purchase tickets online
• Join us as an event sponsor

For sponsorship information please visit our sponsorship information page or contact us at 510 848 1155 ext. 301 or karolo [at] internationalrivers [dot] org.

Many thanks to our sponsors for their generous support!

George & Miriam Martin Foundation

Additional sponsors

• The Furthur Foundation
• Marion Hunt
• Nion McEvoy
• Russell Long
• Rob & Anna McKay
• International Rivers Board of Directors

Special Bay Area event with Zhou Xiang of Green Anhui, China

International Rivers is pleased to co-sponsor a talk on Monday, August 22 at 6 PM by Zhou Xiang of Green Anhui. Zhou Xiang is a dynamic leader in China’s grassroots environmental movement, who has worked to close polluting factories, support marginalized villages struggling with environmental health concerns, find alternatives to garbage incineration, and inspire a new generation of environmental advocates. Please join us to hear Zhou Xiang talk about his work and to show clips of the Academy-Award nominated documentary, The Warriors of Qiugang.

Time: 6PM-7:30PM, Monday, August 22

Location: Asia Foundation, Hayden Williams Room, 465 California St., 8th Floor, San Francisco (see map)

CONTACT: Kristen McDonald or Lizzie Fulton at 415-399-8850, or kmcdonald [at] pacificenvironment [dot] org

The talk is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

Join the Rainforest Party!

Come help us celebrate with World Rainforest Fund. Learn more about their work and be inspired to support the effort to save the world's rainforests. (World Rainforest Fund)

There will be five-minute talks by Surabi Menon, a scientist with UN Climate Change Panel who shared Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore; David Seaborg, President of the World Rainforest Fund; and representatives from International Rivers and Pachamama Alliance. You will have the opportunity to talk with the speakers and ask questions after the short program.

Hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and snacks will be served.

Additional food and drinks available for purchase at low prices.

When: Thursday, July 21 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Where: The Vin Club, 515 Broadway, at Kearny, North Beach, San Francisco

Tickets: Suggested ticket price: $42; tickets available at the door for $50.

Or a price of your choosing down to $8, no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

Buy full-price tickets at Brown Paper Tickets

Or send a check for $8.00 to $42.00, or more if you want to contribute more, made out to:

World Rainforest Fund
1888 Pomar Way
Walnut Creek, CA 94598-1424

Learn more about World Rainforest Fund

Berkeley City College Auditorium
June 30, 7:00pm
2050 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

From Iran, where graffiti and rap became tools in fighting government repression, to Burma, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to young people in the favelas and transform guns into guitars, and ending in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, Cultures of Resistance explores how art and creativity can be ammunition in the battle for peace and justice. The film also features a moving segment on indigenous Kayapo people of the Xingu River and their struggle to protect the Amazon and their homes from the Belo Monte Dam.

This event is organized by MECA/Middle East Children's Alliance, to benefit Maia Project: Clean Water for the Children of Gaza.

The Northern Alameda Group of the Sierra Club hosts a social hour and potluck dinner at the Bay Chapter office in Berkeley, CA.

International Rivers campaigners Zachary Hurwitz and Katy Yan will speak on the current status of world dam-building and efforts to stop unnecessary dam construction.

• When: Friday June 10, social hour and potluck dinner at 6pm, presentation and discussion at 7pm
• Where: Sierra Club Bay Chapter Office, 2530 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA
  

“Green Friday” events combine interesting speakers with potlucks; please bring a healthy dish to share. Please bring ingredient list if applicable. Beverages and tableware will be provided. Suggested donation $2. To RSVP (appreciated but not required) or to volunteer, or for more information, contact Ken Peterson at 510 848-0800.

More information on Green Friday potlucks with the Sierra Club