Cuentos del Rio
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Ecozine Film Festival Zaragoza 2020
Lux Film Fest
Prague Film Awards 2020
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Prague Film Awards 2020
Ecozine Film Festival Zaragoza 2020
Bel Docs 2020
Prague Film Awards 2020
Prague Film Awards 2020
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Eco Hero Award  Portland EcoFilm Festival 2020
Best Feature Film  Portland EcoFilm Festival 2020
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library
Visions du reel industry 2019 - Media Library

RIVER TALES IS LUXEMBOURG’S OFFICIAL ENTRY IN THE 'Best International Feature Film' category at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021

Awards

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY - CLOSE UP DOKUFEST / Edinburgh / Scotland - 2019

PERIPHERAL VISIONS AWARD - GALWAY FILM FLEADH / Galway / Ireland - 2020

BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD - Portland EcoFilm Festival / Portland / USA - 2020

ECOHERO AWARD for Yemn Jordan Taisigue Lopez in River Tales - EcoFilm Festival / Portland / USA - 2020

next screenings

2nd JUNE - Ecozine Film Festival Zaragoza, Spain

10th JUNE - Festival Les Yeux Dans l’Eau, Crest, France

11th JUNE - «AIR WASTE HEALTH WATER ENERGY SOIL» Gleis 70, Zürich, Switzerland

11th JUNE - Friday Night Film at the Redford Center, San Francisco

9th JULY - Spanische Filmtage, Nürnberg, Germany

3 – 17th JULY - ACAMPADOC, Festival Internacional de Cine Documental, Panama

7 – 10th JULY - DOC-CÉVENNES, Festival International de Lasalle, France

Synopsis

While a Chinese business-man wants to take control of the interoceanic route in Nicaragua, actor and teacher Yemn creates a play with the local kids to reflect on their history, their identity and the country‘s future.

The mythic San Juan river located between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in Nicaragua, symbolises 500 years of colonisation and exploitation of resources and has seen over 70 canal projects fail. Now, a Chinese businessman is attempting to control the interoceanic route that Columbus had desperately been looking for when he reached the West Indies, thus creating both discontent and hopes for a better life amongst the Nicaraguans.

Actor and teacher Yemn returns to his native village El Castillo and turns the fortress ruins overlooking the San Juan river into a stage for the local youth theatre group, a sanctuary for open discussion and critical thinking.

While their families struggle with poverty and obligation to migrate to wealthy neighbour Costa Rica in order to make ends meet, the kids rehearse and write a play about their river’s history.They improvise and embody the numerous travellers who tried to control the river; pirates meet Spanish conquerors, American engineers fight against Indigenous chiefs.

Between reality and fiction, the kids reflect upon essential questions: What is their true identity? What can they learn from History? And at a time where freedom of speech has been repressed and a people’s revolt starts brewing, where is their country going to?

Teaser

Past screenings and festivals

2019

April - Media Library | Visions du Réel, Festival international de cinéma Nyon

October - Close Up Dokufest | Edinburgh - Winner best environmental documentary

November - International Documentary Film Festival - Festival dei Popoli | Firenze

November - SUNCINE Environmental Film Festival (FICMA) | Barcelona

2020

16 – 17 January - Prague Film Awards

5 – 15 March - Luxembourg City Film Festival

8 – 15 Mai - Ecozine - Festival Internacional de Cine y Medio Ambiente | Zaragoza

Mai - SEFF Smaraggdni Eco film festival | Croatia

July - Galway Film Fleadh / Ireland - Peripheral Visions Award

25 August – 7 September - Muestra de cine y video indigena | Chile

3 – 10 September - Beldocs International Documentary Film Festival | Belgrade

17 – 20 September - Festival de Cine Verde de Barichara | Colombia

24 Sept. – 1 Oct.: Portland EcoFilm Festival / USA / BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD and ECOHERO AWARD

6 – 11 October Terra di tutti film festival | Bologna

AFI European Film Showcase | USA 2020

2021

Malibu Film Society / USA 2021

USC School of Cinematic Arts - Outside the Box [Office]  / USA 2021

Sjón International Anthropological Film Festival / Denmark 2021

Chicago Latino Film Festival / USA 2021

Livable Film Festival San Francisco Indie Fest / USA 2021

Ecozine Film Festival Zaragoza / Spain 2021

DOC-CÉVENNES / Festival International de Lasalle / France 2021

Spanische Filmtage Nürnberg 2021

Festival Les Yeux Dans l’Eau, Crest, France 2021

«AIR WASTE HEALTH WATER ENERGY SOIL» Kunst-Ausstellung mit Events im Gleis 70, Zürich, Switzerland

NEWS & PRESS

8 April 2020
LIVE Q&A session via Zoom at 8.30 pm organised by the Luxembourg City Film Festival. Watch the Replay on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuxFilmFestival/videos/799575427199377/UzpfSTEwMDAwMTMyMTEyMzQzNDoyODcyNzQ3NzQ5NDQ1OTAx/
12 July 2020
Very exciting news: River Tales won the Peripheral Visions Award at GalwayFilm Fleadh in Ireland, in association with Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture
16 September 2020
Sortie en salle / theatrical release of River Tales from September 16th at CineUtopia Luxembourg, get your tickets at kinepolis.lu
6 october 2020
RIVER TALES has been selected as the Official submission of Luxembourg for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021
https://www.vimooz.com/2020/10/06/luxembourg-picks-river-tales-for-oscar-race-for-best-international-feature-film/
6 october 2020
Article in Luxemburger Wort about the Oscar selection of River Tales
https://www.wort.lu/de/kultur/luxemburger-doku-im-oscar-rennen-2021-5f7b4d42de135b9236e750ec
25 September 2020
Aricle: Et au milieu coule une rivière …  in d’Lëtzebuerger Land
https://www.land.lu/page/article/280/337280/FRE/index.html
17 December 2020
Academy Award submission: Joining two oceans, in Business Doc Europe
https://businessdoceurope.com/academy-award-submission-joining-two-oceans/
15 January 2021
Julie's Q&A by Scott Tallal from the Malibu Film Society
https://player.vimeo.com/video/498801994
27 January 2021
USC School of cinematic Arts - Outside the Box (Office) : Q&A with Julie Schroell moderated by Alex Ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_37YO7jc4
3 February 2021
Article in Women and Hollywood: Oscars 2021 International Feature Contenders: Meet Julie Schroell – “River Tales”
https://womenandhollywood.com/oscars-2021-international-feature-contenders-meet-julie-schroell-river-tales/

credits

DIRECTOR & SCRIPTWRITER

Julie Schroell

producers

Jesus Gonzalez & Julie Schroell

cinematographer

Frank Pineda

production sound mixer

Francois Martig

line producer nicaragua

Florence Jaugey (Camila Films)

drama teacher

Yemn Jordan Taisigue Lopez

film editor

Damian Plandolit

music soundtrack

Pascal Karier, Aaron Ahrends (Say Yes Dog)

sound editing

Capucine Courau

sound re-recording mixer

Michel Schillings

Color Correction

Raoul Nadalet

Technical Data

original Title

Cuentos del Río

english Title

River Tales

french Title

Raconte-moi le fleuve

year

2019

genre

Feature Documentary

original language

Spanish

subtitles

English / French

duration

82 minutes

color / n&B

Color

shooting format

HDV

screening format

DCP / Pro Res 442 HQ

sound

Stereo / 5.1

production company

Calach Films

funded by

Luxembourg Film Fund

country of shooting

Nicaragua

Contact

Julie Schroell
Director and Producer


+41 778158770

[email protected]
www.julieschroell.com

Jesus Gonzalez
Producer & Sales
Calach Films (Luxembourg)

+352 691435523

[email protected]
www.calachfilms.eu