I Am the River, the River Is Me wins the Sunny Side of the Doc Prize at Movies That Matter 2024

Movies That Matter has revealed the winners of its Take on Film & Impact Pitches, a pitch session designed to (further) develop impact goals and strategies for films. This year, the event gathered 10 projects from all over the world.

The presentation of the projects took place on Tuesday 26 March in The Hague, The Netherlands, in the framework of Movies That Matters Festival.

I Am the River, the River Is Me, a documentary directed by Petr Lom and produced by ZINDOC & Ten Thousand Images, wins the Sunny Side of the Doc Prize including two free accreditations for Sunny Side of the Doc 2024.

I Am the River, the River Is Me

Logline: A canoe trip down the Whanganui River in New Zealand, led by a Maori elder, awakens spiritual belief and practice, and becomes a call to action to draw closer to nature and fight climate change through a fundamental value shift.

Impact Statement: “For the sake of future human and non-human generations, it is time for a new nature inclusive democracy, a new narrative in which non-human life forms are effectively represented. We believe the film I Am The River, The River is Me can help pass eco laws and validate the work of nature rights activists, policymakers, politicians, and NGOs: to help create unity, a change in values and contribute to the understanding of the significance of indigenous and local knowledge for a sustainable relationship with aquatic ecosystems. Of the importance of our dependency on healthy water, of a healthy relationship with water – of guardianship versus ownership, and ultimately of ourselves being water in all that is life.”