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
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
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?
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
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
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
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