Directed by Maggie Burnette Stogner | 2022 | United States | 32 mins
Upstream, Downriver, a NEW documentary special, highlights the importance of keeping our waterways clean. This award-winning film highlights what the waterways were like before the Clean Water Act, the challenges that continue, and how people in our community and across the country are coming together to forge a cleaner future.
Imagine a day without fresh, clean, water. We drink it, swim in it, bathe in it. We use it to grow food and generate power, it feeds nature and fills our lakes and streams. Upstream Downriver is a short documentary that explores the milestones of the Clean Water Act, the aftermath of water pollution, and the diverse stories that represent the challenges still faced today in ensuring equitable access to the clean water that keeps people, and the ecosystems they live in, healthy and sustainable.
“To make real change, structural change, necessary change, you need to go out and fight for what’s right”- Fred Tutman, Patuxent Riverkeeper
“Government Responds to Pressure, to Activism. The tools are there, but the tools have to be exercised, they have to be used”-Tom Jorling [EPA Ass. Admin 1977-81]
“The Clean Water Act is like any other law, in that it will only be equitable if it is enforced equitably” - Julian Gonzalez, Senior Legislative Council, Earth Justice
“We can’t fulfill the promise of the clean water act unless we center ourselves in equity and environmental justice” - Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator EPA
“We always say ‘Be kind to your downstream neighbors.’ Wherever you are, you are upstream of another river” - La-Tanya Scott, Education Director, Cahaba River Society
“For too long, community voices were left out of conversations around access to clean water and water pollution. Upstream, Downriver captures the real, lived experiences of people and communities around the country who have suffered as the climate crisis has exacerbated long-festering climate injustice, and provides viewers with the historical context that led us here. It is a powerful film, and I’m grateful that audiences will learn about the wastewater issues in Lowndes Country through this skilled storytelling.” - Catherine Coleman Flowers, Author, Activist, and Environmental Health Researcher