Private Project

#DamBusters

Do rivers in Europe need our help? Join these “Dambusters” on a journey through Spain, France, Finland, and beyond to find out the power of rivers. The notion of removing barriers in rivers started in Europe during the 80’s. What was a far dream from a handful of environmentalists has now become a reality: river restorations are happening all over Europe. Essential ecosystems once fragmented are now thriving havens for nature, getting back to their original form prior to human interventions as epic and iconic fish migrations start coming back. And now that this movement has begun, it’s here to break not only physical but also mental barriers. Commissioned by and co-produced with: World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Magen Entertainment, World Fish Migration Foundation (WFMF).

  • Francisco Campos-Lopez Benyunes
    Director
    I Did Her Wrong, We Will Stay, Chirilagua, USA, When Rivers Returns, Love Flows
  • Francisco Campos-Lopez Benyunes
    Writer
    I Did Her Wrong, We Will Stay, Chirilagua, USA, When Rivers Returns, Love Flows
  • Francisco Campos-Lopez Benyunes
    Producer
    I Did Her Wrong, We Will Stay, Chirilagua, USA, When Rivers Returns, Love Flows
  • Paloma Fernandez
    Key Cast
    "Pao"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, Spain, United States
  • Language:
    English, Finnish, French, Lithuanian, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    RED S35mm Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Wild and Scenic Film Festival
    Nevada City
    United States
    January 17, 2023
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • DC Environmental Film Festival
    Washington DC
    United States
    March 25, 2023
    DC Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Galway Film Fest
    Galway
    Ireland
    May 23, 2023
    Ireland Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Magen Entertainment
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Francisco Campos-Lopez Benyunes

American filmmaker born in southern Chile from Jewish Sephardic Spaniard descends. Francisco started creating films at an early age encouraged by his parents. At the age of 18, moves to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to pursue a filmmaker career and study film-making courses. During that phase he is mentored by the masters in Argentinean films from that era, in areas such as directing, editing, cinematography and acting directing, It was a time of many films in the early stage of digital film-making and High Definition Formats. His worldwide shown film "Acassis" (Best Thriller at the New York Film Festival 2007) creates a chance for him to come to the US and shape up his skills further. The New York press proclaimed him as "A Director to Watch". Before his feature film debut "I Did Her Wrong" in 2017, he worked intensively as a music video director and freelance director all around the world, mainly based in the US. Those travels created a big impact on Francisco, getting him exposed to raw realities and social/environmental conflicts. The internal outcome of these journeys was a new passion for documentary film as well, combing cinematic aesthetics to narrate reality.

His feature film debut, the independent drama "I Did Her Wrong" based in Shakespeare's "King Lear" gave him praises in the film festivals circuit in Sweden and the Best Director Award at the Philadelphia Independent Film Awards for his impeccable acting directing. Francisco runs with his wife the film company Magen Entertainment developing a slate of films (both fiction and documentary), TV ads and marketing campaigns.

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