This powerful film odyssey across America explores the change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. We learn of examples where diverse interests have come together to remove obsolete dams and find more cost-effective options to meet power, shipping, irrigation, and other needs, while helping to restore rivers, preserve tribal customs, recover fish stocks, revitalize waterfronts, improve recreational opportunities and render watersheds more resilient to climate change.

Some call it a movement with a rallying cry from John Muir, “Free the rivers”; others call it a generational shift in values. DamNation documents both — and the undeniable momentum behind river restoration that has begun to take hold in our country. The good news is that when obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds, after decades without access.

With majestic cinematography that takes the viewers through rivers and landscapes altered by dams,

DamNation, garnered Audience Choice awards at both the SXSW Film Festival and Mountain Film in Telluride. Don’t miss this documentary on Tuesday, March 17, 4:30 pm at UUFDC. (2014, 87 minutes)