Patagonia’s DamNation saw its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Monday. The film explores differing national opinions about dams in America. This world premiere will be followed by a panel consisted of the multiple contributors to DamNation, including Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard, DamNation directors Ben Knight and Travis Rummel, and scientist/producer Matt Stoecker.
DamNation explores differing attitudes towards national dams, from seeing dams as objects of great pride to objects of great shame due to their impact on national rivers. Not only does the feature moves through countless rivers and landscapes across the nations that have been altered by dams, but also explores how we, as human beings, also view ourselves in the natural world.
About the film, Chouinard says:
I’m proud to have been involved. Time and again, I’ve witnessed how removing an unnecessary dam is the responsible and, eventually, celebrated choice. Ben, Matt and Travis show us why, and they’ve made a beautiful film.
Environmentalism has been prominent in Hollywood and in multiple movies, especially with the hit blockbuster Avatar which will spawn three more sequels.
DamNation will open theatrically in New York on May 9th at the IFC Center and in Los Angeles on May 16th at the Laemmle NoHo 7. These two releases are accompanied by a nine-city tour in select theaters through April and May, including Portland, Oregon on April 17th as the opening night film for the Portland EcoFilm Festival. with a nationwide release on June 5th at all the U.S. Patagonia retail stores.
Here’s the trailer to the lush film odyssey:
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