The Hill Country is still recovering nearly a year after the Guadalupe River flooded last summer, taking dozens of lives, but people aren’t giving up hope.
Hope for the Guadalupe, a documentary highlighting the restoration efforts following the July 4 flooding, is premiering in San Antonio this Friday, according to the team behind the film. Following the free screening at the San Antonio Botanical Garden on May 15, filmmakers, conservationists and community members featured in the film will participate in a Q&A.
Hope for the Guadalupe captures the destruction in the Hill Country, highlighting the stories of those who lived through the flood, and it seeks to bring attention to the long-term efforts to restore the Guadalupe River corridor.
On July 4 of last year, the Guadalupe rose more than 37 feet in just a few hours during a downpour. During the disaster, more than half of the vegetation found along the river’s banks was lost, and workers have since cleared nearly 1.8 cubic tons of debris from the river’s corridor.
In the 10 months since, biologists, landowners and conservationists have been working to restore the river area through native planting, seed distribution and establishing long-term stewardship.
One of the supporters and subjects of the film — the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country (CFTHC) — is at the forefront of the restoration. The organization established the Hope for the Guadalupe Fund, contributing to the efforts.
“Long-term recovery means caring for the land, the watershed and the people who depend on them for generations to come,” CFTHC CEO Austin Dickson said in a statement.
That resilience is what Hope for the Guadalupe director Ben Masters and producer Josh Winkler discovered while making the film. In a statement, Masters said he approached the project with respect for the people and the area.
“What we saw was not just devastation, but a community coming together to restore something deeply meaningful,” Masters said. “That’s what this film is about.”
Registration for the film’s screening is available online and is required for attendance. Along with screenings in five other cities, the film will also be shown at Alamo Drafthouse locations statewide from May 31 through June 2. Tickets for the Drafthouse showings are already on sale.
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