From mountain high to river deep, director Jennifer Peedom follows her 2017 MIFF hit Mountain with a stunning new cine-sonic journey along the world’s waterways.

Rivers are our planet’s arteries. They’re essential for the physical and spiritual needs of countless communities, and our species’ history would be unrecognisable without them. But since the industrial revolution, the world’s river systems have been placed under ever-increasing stresses. From pollution to poor management to the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change, the threats they face grow more dire by the day – and, for Peedom and her team, it’s vital that we confront these waterways’ vulnerability as much as we value their beauty.

Alongside co-director Joseph Nizeti, and working again with her Mountain collaborators – writer Robert Macfarlane and the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Richard Tognetti – Peedom has crafted another breathtaking visual and musical odyssey, this time spanning six continents. Featuring sublime on-the-ground, aerial and satellite cinematography, this rousing, propulsive film is set to a soundtrack that includes the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Ravel and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Tognetti’s original compositions, and vocals by award-winning Kalkadunga musician William Barton.

River was initially set to screen as part of the MIFF 2021 program. In this post-screening Q&A, directors Jennifer Peedom and Joseph Nizeti sat down for a virtual chat with programmer Kate Fitzpatrick.