The River and the Wall
Directed by Ben Masters
USA | 2019 | Documentary | 100 min
Film Source: Filmmaker
Sponsor: The Nature Conservancy VT Chapter
* Followed by panel with conservationist and participant Jay Kleberg and from The Nature Conservancy: Heather Furman, Vermont State Director and Phil Huffman, Director of Policy.
The panel session will be followed by a reception in the Lake Lobby at 6pm
This adventurous film follows five friends on an immersive journey through the wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes and canoes. Conservation filmmaker Ben Masters recruits National Geographic explorer Filipe DeAndrade, ornithologist Heather Mackey, river guide Austin Alvarado and conservationist Jay Kleberg to join him on a 2 1/2-month journey down 1,200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. They set out to document the region and explore the potential impacts of a border wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face to face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters. ~OY