Stay up to date on upcoming GCI and festival screenings of What the River Knows.
Upcoming Screenings
- Eagle River Coalition’s 11th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival – Edwards, CO
- November 12, 2026 @ 5 PM at Riverwalk Theater
- Tickets
Host Your Own
Interested in hosting an educational or community film screening? Review the screening kit below:
Previous Screenings
- Mountainfilm
- 2025 Conference on the Colorado River co-convened by the Getches-Wilkinson Center and Water & Tribes Initiative
- Greenpoint Film Festival
- HollyShorts Film Festival
- Richmond International Film Festival
- Red Rock Film Festival
- Jackson Wild
- Bushwick Film Festival
- Raleigh Film and Arts Festival
- Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
- Sante Fe International Film Festival
- Bluff Arts Festival
- GCI’s Salt Lake City Premiere
- Green Film Festival of San Francisco
- Park City Film
- REEL East Texas Film Festival
- Mountainfilm On Tour in Watercolor, Florida
- Rivers of Change: Reckoning with the Impacts of Glen Canyon Dam through Science, Art, and Advocacy
- November 13, 2025 – SOLD OUT
- Co-hosted by GCI, Returning Rapids Project, and the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Utah
- Big Syn International Film Festival
- November 14, 2025
- International Short Documentary Winner
- Borrego Springs Film Festival
- Lookout Wild Film Festival
- Frozen River Film Festival
- GCI’s Arizona Film Tour – Tucson
- February 17, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Watershed Management Group
- GCI’s Arizona Film Tour – Phoenix
- GCI’s Arizona Film Tour – Prescott
- Wild and Scenic Film Festival
- GCI’s Arizona Film Tour – Flagstaff
- February 21, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Grand Canyon Trust and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- Colorado Environmental Film Festival
- February 21, 2026
- Best Short Film Award
- Sedona International Film Festival
- MTN BIO’S Water in the West Film Night
- DOCUTAH – International Documentary Film Festival
- Durango Independent Film Festival
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Durango
- March 14, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s New Mexico Film Tour – Santa Fe
- March 15, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with New Mexico Wild, Caldera Action, and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s New Mexico Film Tour – Albuquerque
- March 18, 2026
- In partnership with New Mexico Wild and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s New Mexico Film Tour – Taos
- March 19, 2026
- In partnership with Amigos Bravos and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Cortez
- March 20, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- DC Environmental Film Festival
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Salida
- March 21, 2026
- In partnership with the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- Bowline Film Festival at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Boulder
- March 23, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Fort Collins
- March 24, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Denver
- March 25, 2026
- In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- GCI’s Colorado Film Tour – Grand Junction
- March 26, 2026
- In partnership with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
- Headwaters Center: 2026 Earth Day Celebration
- 2026 Zion Earth & Chalk Fest: WSFF Wild Empowerment Program
- GCI’s Film Tour – Jackson Hole
- August 5, 2026
- In partnership with Snake River Fund, Protect Our Water Jackson Hole, and Jackson Wild
- GCI’s Film Tour – Ketchum
- August 6, 2026
- In partnership with Idaho Rivers United and Project Big Wood
- Mountain Arts & Lectures – Mount Shasta, CA
- October 1, 2026
- Hosted by Alpine Exposure
- Rally for Rivers Film Festival – Wheatridge, CO
- October 16, 2026
- Hosted by Sled Sessions at Down River Equipment
- GCI’s Film Tour – Bend, OR
- October 21, 2026 – SOLD OUT
- In partnership with Deschutes River Alliance and the Environmental Center
- GCI’s Film Tour – Seattle, WA
- October 22, 2026
- In partnership with Washington Water Trust, RÃos to Rivers, and Columbia Snake River Campaign
- GCI’s Film Tour – Portland, OR
- October 24, 2026
- Tickets
- In partnership with Deschutes River Alliance, WaterWatch of Oregon, RÃos to Rivers, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Oregonians for Wild Utah
- GCI’s Film Tour – Hood River, OR
- October 26, 2026
- Tickets
- In partnership with Deschutes River Alliance, Friends of the White Salmon River, Northwest Rafting Company, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and Oregonians for Wild Utah
- GCI’s Film Tour – Tijuana, MX
- November 5, 2026
- FREE – RSVP
- In Partnership with San Diego Coastkeeper, Somos Éticos, Proyecto Socioambiental RÃo Tijuana, Proyecto Fronterizo, Kilómetro Uno, Green Talks, and 4 Walls International
- GCI’s Film Tour – San Diego, CA
- November 6, 2026
- Tickets
- In Partnership with Tijuana River Coalition, Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Food System Alliance, San Diego Coastkeeper, and 4 Walls International
- Mancos Valley Film Festival – Mancos, CO
- November 7, 2026
- Tickets
About the film
From 2023-2025, Glen Canyon Institute worked closely with Good Intentions Paving Co. directors Will Buckley and Diego Riley to create What the River Knows, a new documentary film exploring the reemergence of Glen Canyon from the receding waters of Lake Powell reservoir.
As over-consumption and climate change force a reckoning of Colorado River policy, we are presented with the opportunity to restore one of the most stunning landscapes on the planet. What the River Knows is an advocacy short-doc that examines this unique inflection point in a centuries-long history, weaving together past and present to reveal a new way forward for the Colorado River.
Behind the Scenes
Stills from the film
