Celebrating Our 70th Screening in Style

“I just realised this is our 70th screening!!!”

Director Charlotte Sawyer's opening words to the loveliest crowd at our latest sold-out community screening in Bristol. As of the end of July 2025, over 4,000 people have now seen the film from Bristol to Colombia!

Less than 24 hours after arriving home from a screening of Rave On For The Avon at a film festival in Quindìo Colombia, I was in front of a crowd of eighty people excited to share in a story of love and joy for our previous rivers.

Can you believe over two and a half thousand people and counting have now seen this powerful story??

Thank you Tobacco Factory Bristol for hosting us for THIRD SCREENING at their stunning venues in Bristol. We couldn’t do it without the support of communities and venues like this. Big shout out to Catherine and her fantastic team who care so much for our previous Avon and know how to host lovely events! 

Our 70th screening, a sold-out community screening, took place at the incredible Tobaccy Factory- our third screening hosted and supported by Catherine and her wonderful team at their venues across the city.  

Catherine Raspail, venue manager said

It is a beautiful film and lovingly made which translates well when watching. It takes you on a journey in a way that resonates very personally and that's great magic!  

Thankfully our wonderful Co-Producer Aggie Nyagari hosted the Q&A as I was so jet lagged and lost the ability to string full sentences together! We heard updates from Becca Blease, founder of Bristol’s Citizen science group featured in the film Conham Bathing. Since the film first premiered our volunteer group has grown from 5 to over 90!

We also heard of rumblings…a new river spirit in the making…

Mrs Meg Avon spoke of a new Bristol-based, woman-led art collective Avona that will be hosting a series of workshops this summer to create a goddess of the river Avon puppet, so as to animate the beauty and wrath of our beloved and degraded river. You can help to create Avona or support the cost of the project, details at this link.

Becca Blease gave an update for Citizen Science collective featured in the film Conham Bathing, which (since the film premiered) has grown from 5 to over 90 volunteers regularly testing the water for traces of human pathogens at the much-loved bathing spot Conham River Park. These photos are from their first training session of their new year.

This year is the first year the bathers will be able to test all year round with support from Surfers Against Sewage. The site still does not have bathing water status and the group has some big plans coming up so watch this space…

Rebecca Wetten of Catch, a local swim coach organisation, talked passionately about the importance of the right to access water

“At Catch, everything we do comes back to access:

✨ Access to safe, clean, beautiful outdoor places to swim. 

✨ Access to the water for people who’ve been historically excluded. 

✨ Access to the mental, physical & community benefits that swimming brings. 

Here's how we fight for cleaner water:

We support projects & groups that hold water companies, industrial agriculture & the government to account + inspire positive action, with a particular focus on Bristol (our home). This includes Surfers Against Sewage, Conham Bathing & the incredible film Rave On for the Avon”