For the past few weeks and through early October, the Camp Verde Community Library is hosting the Smithsonian Water|Ways exhibit, providing for visitors an interactive way to learn about the river that flows through the Verde Valley, as well as bodies of water throughout the United States. For the time period of the exhibit, the Friends of the Verde River have organized multiple other events throughout the area to highlight the importance of the river in the natural ecosystem, economy and culture of the Verde Valley.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 14, Cliff Castle Casino held a free showing of “Viva la Verde,” a recent film about the Verde River, its impact on the surrounding area and the threats that the natural area faces. Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Council Chairwoman Jane Russell-Winiecki provided an introduction, discussing the importance of the river to the tribe.
“Viva la Verde” is a love letter to the Verde by filmmaker Hugh Denno, who grew up in California but has lived in Arizona for the past decade. After beginning hiking in the area with the Sierra Club, Denno has become an enthusiast of the river, and said he has backpacked over 60 miles along the river by himself.
“As someone who likes water I was drawn there,” Denno said. “There’s just a lot of wildlife out there so it’s a great place to take pictures. More than 90%, 95% of the habitat of rivers like this are already gone. It’s our last year- round flowing river [in Arizona]. It’s perennial, so it always flows. There’s not many of those in Arizona that still have the living riparian habitat that this does.”
As a student at Prescott College, Denno was assigned to make a film for his senior project. With his love for the nearby wet area, he sought to embark on a project focused on the river he loves so much.
“I just wanted to study something hands on,” Denno said. “I wasn’t as interested in doing research on the internet.”
For the film, Denno brought together a team of local experts, activists and wildlife enthusiasts to talk about the glory of the Verde, and what threatens the natural habitat. He partnered with local sponsors, including Prescott College, the Sierra Club, the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Friends of the Verde River and the Center for Biological Diversity.
The film features stunning footage of wildlife in the area, including beavers, flowering cacti, and numerous species of birds. Locals such as Clarkdale Mayor Doug Von Gausig and Dan Campbell of the Nature Conservancy have cameos.
“You have an important role to play in this story, so grab your water bottle,” the film’s narrator and co-writer, Gary Beverly, says early on. “Let’s take a walk down the river.”
Denno sees the film as both an expression of what makes the river great and a call to action for people to help keep it so. The film features strategies for people to take to conserve water in the area, keeping the river alive for the future.
It’s always been a hard working river as long as there’s been people, and we’ve always utilized it,” Sandy Bahr, director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of Sierra Club says in the film “But now our actions threaten the very existence of the river. It’s more threatened than it’s ever been in its history.”
Cliff Castle is just one of many stops on the film’s journey, which has included film festivals in Prescott, Jerome and the coming Convergence festival in Arcosanti. For those who missed the Cliff Castle showing, in early October, the film will be shown three times in Cottonwood.
