Rave On For The Avon

Rave On For The Avon is a fresh perspective on the discourse around river pollution cutting through the tired narrative the wild swimming is a hobby for middle class white people. The people who swim in and fight for this special patch of the Bristol Avon do so in a very Bristol way- with creativity, rejecting the status quo and taking matters into their own hands. With intimate access and local passion, I immerse audiences in the joy of wild swimming, the unique Bristol sounds (through an incredible soundtrack donated by Bristol audiences) and a sense of humour and energy that only indie filmmakers can playfully explore. This film should be selected as it conveys joyfully and faithfully, the innate need we have to swim in wild waters and explores this through the lens of mental health, eco-feminism and drum and bass.

This film blends the cinematic and poetic with intimate, observational filmmaking and action-packed adventure. This mix gives time and space for audiences to connect with moments of joy, struggle and grief felt by those who love the river yet are unable to enjoy it freely, amongst the many exciting campaign activities.

This film is about my local swimming spot which I swim in all year round so I am personally invested in this issue of raw-sewage pollution. I feel a mixture of anger at the insane amount of pollution in the river, and desperation to take a stand and get others involved. It’s a shame to feel restricted to only swimming with my head above water for fear of getting sick!

The river attracts a lot of lower-income families who use it for exercise, health and mental well-being – it’s one of the only free local blue spaces they can go to. But the pollution is getting worse and it’s now putting people’s health at risk.

The council, who are aware of the dangers, have prohibited swimming in this free spot, but are happy to charge people to swim in the city-centre harbour, which makes it exclusive only to those who can afford it.

This film is about the haves and the have-nots; The rich can have it, the poor can’t, and we are angry at this class divide! What’s more, we show how the majority of the council supported a petition to make Conham River Park a designated swimming spot, which would mean improving the water quality for humans and wildlife, but the mayor shut it down, keeping this free space from those who need it the most!

The only way to overturn the council’s decision is with this film. Film is a powerful tool with the ability to bring change in the world. We believe we can make a difference and bring awareness to something the council is sweeping under the rug.

But this is not your ordinary protest film! Made by a women-led team all based in Bristol, we show how the people in Bristol are natural rebels, west-country style, taking on the system in their outlandish ways. They’re marrying the river, dressing up as a mermaid to swim in polluted waters and refusing to pay their water bills as a protest to the water companies! But that’s the Bristol way!

We reflect an eco-feminist perspective in our film, conveying the love of rivers as a motivation for many of the activists’ work and immersing the audience in the beauty and joy that can be found in nature. Our filmmaking style will blend cinematic and poetic with intimate, observational filmmaking and also action-packed adventure scenes. It will be a real mix.

It will appeal to all audiences regardless of age or background and should resonate with anyone that cares about community, mental health, family and nature. Cold water-swimming has been proven to boost mental well-being, and our contributors share their struggles with depression and how they would ‘go mad’ without the river as a source of healing and solace.

We have known most of our contributors for a while, being locals to this swimming community. I was commissioned 2 years ago by one of our main contributors, Lindsey, to make a short film about her campaign work which screened at Kendal Mountain Festival in 2021.

We’re forging partnerships with NGOs such as Surfers Against Sewage and The Rivers Trust who are providing us with data and helping us develop distribution plans such as nation-wide community screenings in local cinemas and festivals for when the film is complete. We’re also teaming up with protest groups to arrange screenings such as showing in schools and universities, hoping to use it to lobby the council to do the right thing!

Our motivation is to tell a story that encourages more groups to apply for bathing status, to support Surfers Against Sewage’s campaign to have 200 bathing spots by 2030 . This is a local story with national significance!

We aim to connect audiences in the UK to what’s going on under our noses – the class divide, the pollution, the damage to nature – we’re part of nature too – and we intend to get this film shown in cinemas and on social media platforms to raise awareness and rally people to fight for what’s right!