The Films

• Year 2018
• Country USA
• Runtime 26 min
• Director Tucker Gragg & Austin Gardner

Anyone who has kayaked whitewater knows that it can be scary. The idea of kayaking serious rapids without being able to see? Terrifying. And the notion of kayaking the entire length of the Grand Canyon, blind? Almost unthinkable. And yet, people do it. The first of them was Lonnie Bedwell. Bedwell lost his vision in a hunting accident and emerged from an ensuing period of intense self-examination determined to take back his independence and his identity. That he has accomplished. In spades. Just to add some glory to the guts, Lonnie now dedicates himself to helping wounded vets learn how to kayak and, in the process, to regain some freedom. And some fun.

• Year 2019
• Country USA
• Runtime 6 min
• Director Cameron Mattson & Kevin Paczesny

Filmmaker in Attendance

Lakeshore’s Skiff highlights the dream of the Marquette Community Boatbuilding. Their dream? Building a 22’ St. Ayles Skiff, a Scottish four-oared rowing craft. Follow the works of Mike Potts and many other talented local craftsmen throughout the creation process.

• Year 2019
• Country USA
• Runtime 8 min
• Director Patrick Noyes

Filmmaker in Attendance

A postmodern love song to Lake Michigan, and a call to make the best with what you got, this film was made by a human with some assistance from machines.

• Year 2019
• Country USA
• Runtime 17 min
• Director David Freid

Has Subtitles

For many years, this river’s ownership was under dispute. Now, it owns itself. In what is believed to be a world’s first, the Whanganui River’s been granted legal personhood, with the same rights and responsibilities as you and me. But determining where a river ends and the rest of nature begins — that may be up for some debate.

• Year 2019
• Country USA
• Runtime 9 min
• Director David Ruck

In 2006, hypoxic water entered the water intake at Cleveland Water, turning the water supply yellow for its millions of customers. What happened and why? And what can technology do to help us prevent a crisis like this in the future?

• Year 2018
• Country USA
• Runtime 7 min
• Director John Rodosky

Surf photographer Ben Thouard spends his days underwater, floating on blue-green Tahitian waves. In a quest to find an original angle for ocean photography, he waits on a weather window for perfect conditions that happen just a few times a year. Sometimes it’s a lot of preparation for nothing. But occasionally, a rare compression of waves on the reef offer a fleeting window to a new and crystal-clear perspective of the place where sea becomes surface.