The Colorado River has cut through canyons, cultures, and centuries. Here are nine chapters in its fast-flowing journey.

For five million years the Colorado has carved some of the most majestic landscapes on the planet. It has also become the lifeline of a vast portion of North America, providing the water that sustains nearly forty million people, half a dozen major cities, and an immense agricultural empire. Because of these demands, the river is so overused and overpromised that it no longer flows to the sea or nourishes its delta. The Colorado, set to music by today’s leading composers and narrated by the stage legend Mark Rylance, takes us on a journey in nine chapters through the prehistoric settlements of the region, the period of European exploration, the dam-building era, modern industrial agriculture and immigration, and the impact of climate change. The Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler (Kronos Quartet), and composer-percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco) perform the film’s exhilarating score.

Feature Documentary / United States / 86 minutes

Director
Murat Eyuboglu

Writers
William deBuys and Murat Eyuboglu

Narrator
Mark Rylance

Producers
VisionIntoArt & The Colorado, LLC

In Association with the New Amsterdam Records

Cinematographers
Murat Eyuboglu, Sylvestre Campe, Dean Eldrige

Editor
David Sarno

Music Director
Jeffrey Zeigler

Composers
John Luther Adams, William Brittelle, Glenn Kotche,
Shara Nova, Paola Prestini

Performers
Roomful of Teeth, Brad Wells, director
Glenn Kotche, percussion
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello

"visually captivating and unsettling"

"performed by some of the most innovative soundsmiths around"

"A multidimensional portrait... alternately spectral, dazzling, ugly, and phenomenal."

"a striking, thoughtful and cautionary piece of art"

 "emotionally and intellectually rich"

June 23
Museo Regional de San Luis Río Colorado
San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico

Co-Presented by
Ayuntamiento de San Luis Río Colorado
La Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)
Reserva de la Biosfera Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado

June 22
Biblioteca Pública Municipal San Felipe BC
San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico

Co-Presented by
Ayuntamiento de San Luis Río Colorado
La Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)
Reserva de la Biosfera Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado

June 20
Centro de Promoción de Cultura Ambiental Casa del Mar
Golfo de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico

Co-Presented by
Ayuntamiento de San Luis Río Colorado
La Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)
Reserva de la Biosfera Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado

May 21
Voice & Vision Film Festival
The Picture House, Pelham, NY

May 19
Voice & Vision Film Festival 
The Picture House, Bronxville, NY 

March 21-24 
SEMANA DE LA CULTURA DEL AGUA
Mexicali, Baja California, México

Presented by
Secretaría de Educación Pública &
La Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural

Institutions hosting screenings: 

UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
COLEGIO DE ESTUDIOS CIENTÍFICOS Y TECNOLÓGICOS DEL ESTADO
DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE CENTROS DE FORMACIÓN PARA EL TRABAJO
CENTRO DE CAPACITACIÓN, INVESTIGACIÓN E INNOVACIÓN, AGROPECUARIA Y ALIMENTARIA
DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE EDUCACIÓN TECNOLÓGICA AGROPECUARIA Y CIENCIAS DEL MAR
COLEGIO NACIONAL DE EDUCACIÓN PROFESIONAL TÉCNICA
UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MEXICALI

October 6
Hosted by the Morehead-Cain Alumni Forum
The University of Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, NC, Film Version

November 6
32nd Annual Headwaters Conference
Hosted by The Clark Family School of Environment and Sustainability
Western Colorado University, Gunnison, CO, Film Version

December 2
Arizona PBS

September 22
Arizona PBS

April 22
Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Earth Day
Week-long streaming on NationalSawdust.org

March 6
Princess Cinemas, Waterloo, ON, Canada, Film Version 

February 4
Presented by the Clements Center for Southwest Studies
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, Film version

November 17
The Loft Cinema, Tucson, AZ, Film Version
Hosted by the Sonora-Arizona Desert Museum 

September 20
Community Garden Movie Nights
2 S Portland Ave. Brooklyn, NY, Film Version

April 20
National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY, Film Version

April 13
Kanab Film Fest, Kanab, UT, Film Version

April 7
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, Film Version

March 15
Paradise Theater, Paonia, CO, Film Version

November 20
Utah Film Center, Salt Lake City, UT, Film Version

September 28
Escalante Canyons Art Festival, Escalante, UT, Film Version

August 16
Utah Film Center, Moab, UT, Film Version

July 13
Crested Butte Music Festival, Crested Butte, CO, Film Version  

April 21
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Film Version

March 18
The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, Live Version

March 6
Illinois Wesleyan University, Film Version

October 6
Colegio de Educación Profesional Técnica
Universidad Tecnológica de San Luis Río Colorado
Universidad Estatal de Sonora
San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, Film Version

October 5
Biblioteca Pública Central Estatal de Mexicali
Festival de Octubre
Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, Film Version

September 28
Taos Environmental Film Festival, Taos, NM, Film Version

September 8
Golden Tree International Documentary Film Festival
Frankfurt am Main, Film Version

September 6
Prochnow Auditorium, Flagstaff, AZ, Film Version

May 11-July 20
Jean Cocteau Cinema, Santa Fe, NM, Film Version

April 21-22
Stanford Live, Palo Alto, CA, Live Version

April 7
NHTI Film Society, Concord, NH, Film Version

April 2
Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI, Film Version

March 18
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital,
Washington DC, April Film Version

May 18
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, Live Version

April 12
Da Camera, Houston, TX Live Version