A Rave On For The Avon Update sent out to newsletter subscribers
on World Rivers Day 22nd September. Click here to subscribe to our newsletters.
Hello to the lovely community of ravers and river lovers. Happy World Rivers Day…a day to join a global collective call to protect the veins of our Earth, home to wildlife and chill out zone for those who swim, paddle, run and stroll along them.
It’s been a while!
The campaign team and I took a much needed break over the summer after all our preview run shenagegans. Over 1,000 people have seen the film at our preview and community-led screening from Kendal Mountain Festival down to Mousehole Cornwall, from Oxford University’s School of Georgraphy & The Environment to Clevedon's Curzon cinema. Screenings have been organised by Surfers Against Sewage in Cornwall, The UK River Summit in London, The Rivers Trust in Keswisk and by Finisterre at their store in Bath.
Our Bristol run started with a sold-out screening of 300 river-lovers at PYTCH, then was seen on an IMAX screen in The Bristol Aquarium and with a special community day at The Tobacco Factory supported by George Ferguson and his incredible team.
The film has been featured by The Times, BBC News, ITV West Country News, Radio Four’s Today Programme, Bristol 247, The Outdoor Swimming Society, Red Bull Magazine and many more fantastic publications.
I have to admit I’m a bit shy to share the ITV news interview, I struggle seeing myself on screen and forgot to even mention the name of the film during the interview but presenters Sabet Choudhury and Alex Lovell were so lovely about the film and asked me some great questions. Despite not having much to go on, plenty of river-lovers managed to find the film’s website and got in touch. Local campaign groups are now organising community screenings in the Frome and Langport!
It was a whirlwind and that was only the start.
The next step is to get the film into cinemas so that people across the country can be immersed in our precious Bristol Avon and inspired into action to protect their nearest river. We will be running a crowdfunder to raise the money needed to get a cinema rating in order for UK Cinemas to be able to program the film. I’ll be in touch about that soon!
But until then never fear, screenings are popping up here and there! I was overjoyed to hear that Rave On For The Avon was selected for Wildscreen Festival, a world-leading wildlife festival which will screen our film in Bristol on the 16th October. Patagonia Bristol is also hosting a sold-out screening at the Watershed in Bristol Friday 27th September.
There’s a big moment coming up at The March for Water in London on November 3rd November. I have been invited to screen a 6 minute scene of Frank's story in the film at the rally at Parliament Square. Frank is a beautiful voice in our film, speaking so powerfully about his connection to the river and I can't wait to see it up on the large screens.
The streets will be flooded with people wearing blue with one clear message to the new government: Stop the poisoning of Britain’s Waters. Please join if you can, the Rave On For The Avon campaigners will be there with drum and bass to bring the Bristol energy!
Ok I think that’s enough updates for now. You can read all about our south-west screenings in the blog section of our website. I’ll be in touch soon and thanks again for your support.
Charlotte
Director of Rave On For The Avon
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