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Saturday, June 14
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Regal Gallery Place

701 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

River of Grass

Director

Sasha Wortzel

Producers

Danielle Varga, Sasha Wortzel

Editors

Rebecca Adorno-Dávila, Sasha Wortzel

Consulting Editor

Co-Editor

Assistant Editor

Cinematographer

J. Bennett

Additional Cinematography

Music

Angélica Negrón

Sound

Narration

Contact

Sasha Wortzel, Subtropic Films, Walking Productions riverofgrassfilm@gmail.com

A present-day reimagining of Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s seminal book The Everglades: River of Grass (1947), this lyrical documentary explores how Douglas transformed the public’s understanding of the Everglades from worthless swamps to a vital freshwater source, sustaining the ecosystem—just barely—today.

After a hurricane, Douglas visits filmmaker Sasha Wortzel in a dream, sparking a multifaceted exploration of this wilderness, rich in history and resistance amidst climate collapse. Wortzel immerses herself in Douglas’s book and joins Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola on prayer walks through the Everglades, transporting the audience through its past and present. Along the way, we meet a mother battling the polluting sugar industry, a Two-Spirit Miccosukee environmentalist and poet, a mother-daughter duo removing invasive snakes, and a family of six generations of fishermen.

Blending Douglas’s writings, Wortzel’s narration, powerful verité footage, and archival material, the film illuminates how this country’s origin story continues to haunt and shape contemporary American life, while asking how we might better face future challenges together.

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Sasha Wortzel

Director, River of Grass

Sasha Wortzel is an award-winning filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist. Raised in Southwest Florida and based in New York City, Wortzel specifically attends to sites and stories systematically erased or ignored from these regions’ histories. Her films have screened at MoMA DocFortnight, CPH:DOX, True/False, DOC NYC, BAMcinemaFest, San Francisco International, New Orleans Film Festival, Wexner Center for the Arts, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her expanded cinematic work has recently been exhibited at the New Museum, the International Center for Photography, and The Kitchen. Wortzel is a recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship, 2023 MacDowell Fellowship, 2020 Oolite Arts Ellies Award, and 2017 NYFA Fellowship. River of Grass is her first feature documentary. The film has received institutional support from Sundance, Ford Foundation, Field of Vision, Doc Society, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Sandbox Films. Her short films include How to Carry Water (2023), an IDA Awards nominee for Best Short Documentary currently streaming on Criterion Channel; This Is An Address (2020), distributed by Field of Vision; and Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018; co-director Tourmaline), which won special mention at Outfest. Her artwork is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Studio Museum of Harlem, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, and Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places. She has been featured in The New York Times, Artforum, and Art in America.

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