Film draws attention to Russian River

Videographer Bill Sorensen, 64, was doing some commercial shooting on the Russian River when he noticed that the water was too warm. An angler from his youth, he knew what a river should feel like. He investigated the causes of the warm river water - gravel mining and ongoing water diversions, both legal and illegal - and began to see that the challenges faced by the Russian River are the same as in other watersheds across the world.

“Rivers suffer globally from warming water, dams, the impacts of agriculture and development,” said Stella Kwiecinski, his wife and co-producer of the film, “Russian River: All Rivers, The Value of an American Watershed.”

The couple has lived in the Healdsburg area since 1989 and began the process of making the movie in 2009, to bring awareness to the challenges of protecting the Russian River watershed. They hope it will inspire others to protect and appreciate the river.

“We’re getting older,” said Kwiecinski, 58. “We want to protect the river for future generations. We want people to feel the emotion, so they believe it’s important to preserve it.”

Among those interviewed for the film are Don McEnhill, Russian Riverkeeper; Maude Barlow, water activist and writer; and Cam Perry, coastal habitat restoration activist.

“The film gives a solid history of the Russian River, so we can place what we are doing today in the context of that history,” said Nancy Econome, who also worked on the film.

Upcoming screenings are planned at 7 p.m. Thursday at Raven Film Center, 415 Center St., Healdsburg, and 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. For reservations, email reservations@russianriverallrivers.com.

Learn more about the movie at russianriverallrivers.com.