TEXAS — A new documentary, “Hope for the Guadalupe,” is telling the story of loss along a Hill Country river. Last Fourth of July, the Guadalupe River rose nearly 40 feet, affecting Kerr County communities on the riverbanks forever.
This project was produced by Fin & Fur Films, not only to talk about the loss, but also the resilience to restore the Guadalupe.
“Over 52% of the vegetation of the Guadalupe River Basin was completely removed due to the flood,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. “So, we have an ecological situation on our hands that will take many years, if not a generation, to solve.”
Spectrum News has reported on the TREES Initiative — Texas Recovery for Ecological and Environmental Stability. The goal is to plant 50,000 or more trees in Kerr County by 2027. The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country granted the filmmakers $30,000 to create this educational film.
“We are honored to play a role in storytelling about what this community has been through,” Dickson said. “And a hopefully message too about the road ahead. And it’s also an educational film about flooding, about erosion, about plants and trees.”
Earlier this week, the film premiered in Austin. Next week they will host screenings in Dallas and Houston, followed by a question and answer session with the filmmakers and folks featured in the documentary.
“Hope for the Guadalupe” is also going to the big screen, if you can’t make it to one of those screenings. Starting May 31, you can see the documentary at any Alamo Drafthouse in Texas until June 2. After that, it will air on PBS and be available on YouTube.
The San Antonio Botanical Garden is a huge partner in the TREES Initiative to restore the greenery along the Guadalupe River. In San Antonio at 7 p.m. on Friday, there will be a screening at the garden.