Part two of a planned trilogy examining humanity’s relationship to nature, Canberran documentary filmmaker Jennifer Peedom’s latest release, River, is something to behold.

Like its predecessor, 2017’s Mountain, the film combines spectacular cinematography from right across the world comprising drone footage, satellite imagery and hand-held camerawork, with the dulcet tones of narrator Willem Dafoe, and a purpose-made score from the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO).

According to Peedom, where River diverts is by telling a different, more “urgent” story, given how much more vulnerable rivers are to human harm and intervention than mountains.

The film examines the relationship humans have had with rivers, going back to the dawn of time, and looks at how it has changed, particularly in more modern times.

“Our efforts to control rivers has really begun to backfire, and the implications of that are fairly substantial, and in terms of our own ability to grow food and provide millions of people with the fresh water they need to survive,” Peedom said.

“We ask the question at one point, are we being good ancestors.”

A global film made from Peedom’s ‘backyard’

And with a different story came a very different filmmaking process: Peedom and her team produced a film with global scale ultimately utilising footage from over 39 countries, all amid the travel restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Their very first day of pre-production was the first day of lockdown in March 2020: “The nail in the coffin came early in terms of our ability to leave the country and travel,” she said.

“These films are by definition very global, and we wanted to reflect that.”

“It was very important to tell the story from all corners of the globe because the story changes depending on where you are.”

But with it came a silver lining; while grounded here in Australia, so too were some of the world’s finest cinematographers. Confined to their own backyards, they were free to not just contribute pre-existing footage, but also shoot original material for River.

“What was useful was that a lot of them had been shut down over the world and weren’t going anywhere.

“And also, because so many of them specialise in this kind of work, we found drone cinematographers that really specialise in certain things, and just do an incredible job of shooting natural features like rivers and waterfalls.”

Growing up in Canberra with “sporty, outdoorsy” parents, Peedom was exposed to the phenomenal access to nature afforded by the bush capital.

“For me the river I grew up with was on lilos going down the Murrumbidgee,” she said. “It’s a happy memory of my childhood.

Holidays spent on the NSW South Coast, at Thredbo or Perisher, or hiking the Blue Lake area in the Kosciuszko National Park instilled a “love for the outdoors” and an inherent understanding that “it’s really good for you” to connect with nature.

“I’m really grateful for that,” Peedom said, “I live in Sydney down and my kids don’t get to access nature now the way I did.”

River is on at Dendy Canberra and Palace Electric from 24 March; check online for screening times.

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