Greetings friends...

My new historical documentary film, "The Call of the River", will have its DC area premiere on Thursday May 14th at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse. Tickets are available at:
www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/default.aspx?page=event&eid=885 The show is a benefit for Team River Runner and the Whitewater Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, you can watch a trailer of the film at www.thecalloftheriver.com

I would really appreciate if you were willing to forward the link to anyone else who may enjoy re-living the rich history of whitewater boating.

Cheers

Kent

The Call of the River

A Hundred Years of Whitewater Adventure

Whitewater’s history has as many twists and turns as the canyons its pioneers explored.

Its story is a collage of unexpected influences, from building boats in friends’ basements to bribing damkeepers to release water. World champions defect from communist regimes and then utilize military by-products for equipment. Curiosity, ingenuity and outright audacity thrived as paddlers started exploring virgin runs and experimenting with designs and materials to make the sport easier.

For the first time ever, The Call of the River, produced by award-winning videographer and former world champion Kent Ford, brings these tales and more together on film. Featuring vintage canoeing and kayaking footage, in-depth interviews with eclectic pioneers and captivating narrative, this documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at what inspires paddlers to answer the call of the river.

The film chronicles the world of whitewater from its early beginnings in Europe through its position as a major outdoor sport in the world today. From the inaugural FIBArk race on Colorado’s Arkansas River, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, to Grumman Aviation entering the aluminum canoe business, the sport’s history is riddled with watershed moments, all of which have been painstakingly documented through more than 100 sources of footage spanning 80 years of history.

Learn how paddling exploded in the 1970s, spurred by the movie Deliverance, slalom’s inclusion in the 1972 Augsburg Olympics, and the advent of nearly indestructible plastic kayaks. Follow along as this cult-classic takes you from world champion defections from communist-occupied countries to the summer camps and clubs that fueled the sport’s early growth and continue to do so today. From early explorations in fragile wood and canvas boats to today’s multi-manufacturer line-up of creek, play and river-running kayaks, nowhere has the sport’s journey from obscurity to mainstream been so thoroughly unveiled.

Nearly 16 million Americans now participate in some form of whitewater paddling every year, all of whom will benefit from this look upstream at where the sport’s been and where it’s still going.

Order yours today! www.thecalloftheriver.com

Producer: Kent Ford
93 minutes. Featuring more than 100 sources of footage and images spanning 80 years of whitewater history


Snippets

1944 "Even World War II had its unintended bright side...a bridge was destroyed, but it created beautiful rapids."

-- French Kayaker Roger Paris

1958 "Those were the days when nobody wore lifejackets. I didn't even know what one was."

--Former Nantahala Outdoor Center President Bunny Johns

1964 "Whenever you saw someone on the river, you became fast friends--because just around the corner, you might need to be."

--Whitewater pioneer Jimmy Holcombe

1968 "People said we were brainless... but it looked okay to us!"

-- Early paddler Bert Hinkley

1976 "We all had long hair and none of us had two dimes to rub together."

-- Perception Kayaks founder Bill Masters

1984 "There were some long winters of eating Velveeta cheese and just hanging out with my boat after I stumbled into the three-dimensional aspect of paddling."
-- Squirt boat pioneer Jesse Whittemore