some off-grid hipsters . They know that spring flooding is a natural cycle of any river , so they don ’ t build houses too close to the banks . They know their drinking water comes from the groundwater rivers , so they don ’ t use pesticides on their fields . Those who want to build dams have either lost ( or never had ) this basic connection to water and the understanding that rivers represent life for humans too .
COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP Drifting along the lazy flow between rapids of the upper Sava , the paddlers had the chance to ponder this complex relationship between humans and rivers , which was part of what made this trip about so much more than just kayaking . It was anything but an extreme whitewater trip and more about exploring eddies , camping on white pebble gravel bars , cooking fish over
driftwood fires and observing birds overhead . The documentary created from the trip , ‘ One for the River : The Sava Story ’, tells all the little stories , like finding an old WW2 weapon , rescuing a bird tangled with a fishing hook and laughing around the campfire .
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS The film is currently circulating at international film festivals and , to date , has been shown at 20 film festivals in 14 countries and has won eight international awards . BRD also wrote a kayaking guidebook for the Sava River and will release an English version later in 2023 . Making this river trip easy can also help bring kayakers to the Sava , thus showing local businesses and decision-makers that it is better to let this river push kayakers than push turbines .
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