Generations of activists and environmentalists unite in the compelling documentary Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again. The film directed by Lyana Patrick is now available for free streaming at NFB.ca.
Nechako observes members of the Stellat’en and Saik’uz First Nations as they join forces to protect the river after feeling the consequences of the Kenney Dam, which diverts approximately 70 percent of the Nechako River’s water supply into an artificial reservoir for the benefit of Rio Tinto Alcan. Patrick captures voices who share how the river sustained their communities for years and how they hope to preserve the health of the environment and wildlife for generations to come. The documentary scored the Mark Haslam Award at Toronto’s Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival last month where it served as the festival’s opening night selection, and received an honourable mention for the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director at Vancouver’s DOXA earlier this year. It introduces Patrick as an assured voice behind the camera.
“One participant says that the Nechako used to be a ‘grocery store’ with all the salmon that elders used to fish. Patrick integrates generational wisdom within the film to illustrate how the sense of duty passes from grandparents to their children and grandchildren by investing their time and energy in developing a relationship with the water body itself. Archival clips show grandmothers and aunties preparing hearty supplies of salmon for the smokehouse, while the waters in contemporary scenes mostly hold distant memories of fish that fed families for months. Another interviewee notes that the fish survived the meteor impact that killed off the dinosaurs, but Rio Tinto managed to snuff them out in just a few years,” POV noted in its review of the film.
“One can’t help but laugh at that wry observation. However, that morbid logic actually fuels the company’s defense against an injunction in the lengthy legal battle with First Nations communities One meeting with the First Nations’ lawyers shares the news that the company argues that while they acknowledge the consequences of their activities, they should be allowed to carry on business as usual, having been implementing their practices for years. Fighting the ‘why start now?’ mentality requires persistence and spirit, and Patrick observes the resilience in the Stellat’en and Saik’uz First Nations as they carry on the fight amid tears and frustration.”
Watch Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again below from the NFB.
Nechako: It Will Be A Big River Again, Lyana Patrick, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
