Jenni Kempf of Algonquin crosses the Wisconsin state line and into McHenry County during a 10-day trip in September down the entire 202-mile Fox River. The trip is highlighted in the new short film, “Watershed Warriors.” (Courtesy of Jenni Kempf)
When Gary Swick was a teenager in the late 1960s, the Fox River was not healthy.
The river was “a really nasty, polluted place” back then, Swick, now president of Friends of the Fox River, said in the trailer for a new short film, “Watershed Warriors.”
The 12-minute film will be screened at a ticketed event set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Ashbury, 1 Douglas Ave. in Elgin.
Swick said he hopes the film highlights what people across the world can do for the rivers near them while also educating those living throughout the watershed about the natural resource.
Produced as part of a series by riversarelife.com, the documentary was filmed by Barrington residents Thomas and Wade Balsamo of World Touch Productions, Swick said.
“They are amplifying our story and getting it to the right audiences. This will give us international exposure” once the film is posted online, Swick said.
Parts of the movie center on Algonquin resident Jenni Kempf. Over 10 days in September, Kempf paddled the entire, 202-mile length of the river. The filmmakers joined her at the beginning of her trip in Waukesha, Wisconsin, later on when she reached the Chain O’ Lakes, and again at her journey’s end in downstate Ottawa.
Read more here.