Summer At The River and Rave On For The Avon Updates

Dear River Lovers and Guardians

It's summer at our gorgeous Bristol Avon. We enjoy longer swims in the warmer temperatures, teenagers jump in and everyone gives the elegant swans their space as they glide past.  

I'm so excited to share that Rave On For The Avon is streaming on our website, how this film has ignited a campaign in York for the River Ouse (that's me swimming with campaigners below) and to celebrate the community screenings that are still popping up all over the country including a boat party in Bristol 8th August.

Rave On For The Avon is available to watch on our website. It brings such a smile to my face to receive so many emails with encouragement from those of you watching at home. Thank you for your support and cheerleading, we couldn't do this without you. Here's a lovely review we received on Rotten Tomatoes recently.

Please continue to spread the word!!

As always you can help the river-guardian movement by sharing a website link to friends and family. This message of love and connection to our precious rivers is travelling far and wide online and with our community screenings.

I hopped up to York for a second cinema screening of Rave On For The Avon, hosted by York's Festival of Ideas. I learned how much the film had been an inspiration to Helen (to my right below), who went on to found Ouse It Or Lose It after seeing the film.

Watching swimmers, artists, scientists and campaigners in Bristol connect with their river made me realise that perhaps the first step wasn’t campaigning or policy change. It was simply putting my body in the water.  

Helen Poulson, founder of York's new river community group Ouse It Or Loose It.

Helen puts it wonderfully

If we want people to care about the Ouse, we need to help them imagine a different relationship with it.

You can read more of Helen's reflections and how their community in York is growing in creativity, citizen science and most of all connecting with the river in my blog here.

Another Bristol Party!

The party continues in Bristol on Sat 8th August as another community screening has popped up on a boat in Bristol Harbour.

I have to say, I do love it when campaigning is combined with a party.

I'm so thankful that the lovely team at Beautiful People who are putting on a screening and an afterparty on the fabulous boat venue The John Sebastian.

You can buy tickets at this link.

Aggie and I have also been part of some incredible Q&As so far this summer. We shared a Q&A in Bristol with Mehbooba who in the film swims in the river for the first time. Mehbooba talks so beautifuly about how cold water swimming helps her. Aggie was part of a joyful scrreening, organised by youth-led river group Early Earth Protectors in Chippenham.

I have so much more to share, including how I filmed an historic moment for our rivers for the sequel about campaigners for the River Wye but I will have to leave that till my next newsletter!

Aggie and I want to thank you all for connecting with and supporting this indie film project. It's been a long and incredible journey and we hope that this story of love and connection can be part of this movement to protect our precious rivers with creativity and joy.

Charlotte & Aggie

Director & Co-Producer

Swimmers in nature