It's All Connected
The Downstream Environmental Film Festival began in 2017, its name rooted in the idea that environmental issues are deeply connected along waterways. What happens upstream shapes life downstream. Even small decisions can ripple outward, affecting the water quality and well-being of communities along a stream, river, or watershed. From the beginning, the festival has been guided by a simple belief: when people gather to watch films and engage in meaningful conversation, they can become more informed, more connected, and more inspired to act.
Change often starts quietly, in the act of witnessing someone else’s story. As we listen, we begin to see how much there is to learn. Reflection leads to understanding, and understanding can lead to action. Documentaries play a unique role in this process. They are not just films but invitations to see the world differently, to confront challenges, and to imagine solutions. The festival builds on this power by bringing people together around stories that highlight environmental issues, especially those faced by marginalized communities on the front lines of climate change. When audiences stay after the credits roll to share what moved them, something deeper begins to take shape. A sense of connection grows, along with a shared commitment to care for the places and people around us.
One highlight from our ninth festival began with an invitation to local filmmakers. With support from a grant through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, we commissioned a bilingual Spanish-English documentary directed by Faribault historian and filmmaker Sam Temple in collaboration with City of Northfield translator Claudia Garcia. The film. “Las Aguas Vivas de Faribault” (The Living Waters of Faribault) tells the story of the founding of the City of Faribault. We’d wager that most attendees had never heard this story before, so it was really special. Reflecting on the project, Temple shared, “The idea behind the film was to bring attention to a story about water, human beings in relationship with water, and the natural world that surrounds us. I can’t separate our local communities from our watershed because it’s all connected.”
That sense of connection carried through the entire festival. Audiences traveled from across a 50-mile stretch of the watershed, from Cannon Falls to Owatonna, also gathering in Northfield and Faribault for screenings and conversations. Each event welcomed special guests, including filmmakers and film subjects: some local residents, and some visitors from across the country and beyond. After each screening, conversations continued through lively question-and-answer sessions that explored water issues both close to home and around the world.
“It’s fun to watch an event like this come together,” said Felicia Hokenstad, Clean River Partners Communications Coordinator. “The mix of local stories and international perspectives brings us full circle. It shows how our actions can have far-reaching and lasting impacts on people and ecosystems. We are all traveling downstream together.”
By the end of the festival, what remained was more than a series of screenings. It was a shared experience that brought people closer to one another and to the water that connects them, reminding us that meaningful change begins when we come together, listen deeply, and choose to act.
