Rave On For The Avon is coming back to Bristol 8th August for a screening + DJ night boat afteparty

https://youtu.be/V84OmOUIoG4?si=dg7ztYydjVPTzuUs

Rave On for the Avon is an independent wild swimming documentary that’s explores a community’s fight to save their bathing spot in unique, daring & distinctly Bristol ways. 💙✨🪩🎬🏞️🍿🦦 It’s a universal story of deep our connection to river can be in our modern world and turning creativity and citizen science into a weapon against sewage pollution.

We have a big announcement. The “Otter who won’t pay his water bills” in Rave On For The Avon is speaking publicly for the first time about his experience at our next screening Sat 8th August in Bristol tickets are on Headfirst.

Still from Rave On For The Avon.  The “Otter who won’t pay his water bills” and Lindsey Cole meet with a rep from Wessex Water.

After a screening of the film on The John Sebastian barge in Bristol Harbour, Director Charlotte Sawyer will moderate the Q&A then in true Rave On For The Avon style we will enjoy a DJ night organised by the fabulous Beautiful People. 'It's important to have fun when we're coming together to tackle evironmental issues' says Director Charlotte Sawyer 'we need creativity and vitality to keep us hoping and campaigning' so I'm looking forward to having a dance in this gorgeous venue, floating on the Avon we're fighting to protect.'

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We will also be joined in the Q&A by Kathy Hinde, an incredible interdisciplinary artist who creates installations, performances and site specific experiences aiming to nurture a deeper and more embodied connection to the more-than-human world.

Kathy generously donated her Avon sounds to Rave On For The Avon and even has a hydrophone attached to the Lightship that this screening is taking place on. Kathy will share a live audio feed which is continuously streaming underwater sounds from the Lightship at Bathurst Basin!!

Read more about her work below.

The Guardian gave our film four stars  ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Campaigning never looked so fun and friendly as it does in this joyous documentary about Bristol’s clean water campaigners

Still from Rave On For The Avon, Aggie, a recenl memeber of citizen scientist group Conham Bathing swims in the summer

Mel Rodrigues, CEO of Creative Access

Sometimes an indie film like this comes along that just makes you want to cry, laugh, scream and jump headfirst into the open water like a mermaid!

Our film is all set to a Bristol soundtrack including tracks from Maribou State, Elder Island & Ngaio.

OVER 5,000 PEOPLE HAVE SEEN OUR FILM AT OVER 120 SCREENINGS

From Bristol to Cornwall to Colombia!!!

For more info about the film and the movement for rivers check out our website.

So who is this “otter who won’t pay his water bills?”

Until recently, the “otter who won’t pay his water bills” has remained anonymous (hence his otter persona in the film) but he will be sharing his story publicly soon. He recently learned, after boycotting his water bill for 4+ years in protest at Wessex Water’s contribution to river pollution, he is being taken to court by Wessex Water and will be sharing why he is taking this stand for his river.

He is part of a community who is fighting for the precious River Avon in many different ways, all driven by love and concern for the river. 

A still from Rave On For The Avon documentary film

The “otter who won’t pay his water bills” shared with us 

I have made official complaints, had correspondence with their CEO, even been taken on a tour of my local storm overflow by an operations manager (which featured in Rave on for the Avon). But Wessex Water have done everything other than resolve the problem. Wessex Water say that the overflow we visited in the film won’t meet government water targets until 2045!

Bristol Wessex Water are now taking me to court to recover my unpaid bills and I have decided to fight the case. We shouldn’t have to pay for sewage services that aren’t being carried out. Court appointed mediation is scheduled for August and a hearing will follow not long after.

Rave on for the Avon showcased how Bristolians - like people all over the UK - defy the pollution dealt to them by water monopolies to build deep connections to our rivers. But we shouldn’t have to run the sewage gauntlet to benefit from nature connection. The film shows the care and dedication with which people are trying to protect rivers.

But despite that, the system polluting our rivers hasn’t changed. It’s time to pull the plug on corrupt water companies. It’s time to stop paying our unjust bills

We will be supporting and encouraging him in the next stage of his journey and will be sharing ways for you to show him support closer to his court appearance. You can signup to our newsletter list on our website or follow us on socials to keep up to date with how to cheer him on.

You can read the Bristol Post's article about the otter here.

From a protestor to an audio artist. Our Q&A will feature Kathy Hinde who will share about her collaborations with ecologists & scientists and how listening can play a part in caring for our rivers. This can be - listening for biodiversity - bioacoustics monitoring. - but also - listening as a way to gently pay attention, show care and notice more. 

Below you can see Kathy guiding a listening walk on the Avon close to St Anne’s House

Taken by Natasha MacVoy as part of a workshops with Dayschool Arts.

Kathy will share some of her recent experiences listening attentively to the waterways of Bristol, including her project River Echoes which grew from a series of shared listening walks following the River Frome, to where it joins the Avon Cut close to Bathurst Basin. River Echoes culminated in a site specific performance, installation and film projection at this very location.

We're so excited to share such a mix of protest, creativity, community and hope at this event and also...have lots of fun with the DJ night afterparty, see you there!