The 2025 festival comprised of events, celebrating rivers and other water bodies with short and long-form films, talks, walks, workshops and more. Novel partnerships and places, art and documentaries to inspire care, curiosity and action.
The Rivers of Film festival was commissioned to James Murray-White with support from Water Sensitive Cambridge by Cambridge Past, Present & Future as part of the RiverCamCAN (Climate Action Through Nature) project and funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
The festival in 2025 was curated by James Murray-White, with support from Water Sensitive Cambridge and event partners.
Since the closure of River CamCAN project, the project is being managed by Water Sensitive Cambridge.
Rivers of Film Festival 2025
The main events of the festival took place for two weeks in late September and early October.
Many partners and volunteers made each event possible through their hard work and support. With much gratitude for them, the River guardians, and the River that run through all of us.
Rivers of Film Shorts 2025
The programme included ten specially commissioned short films made in Summer 2025 that were shown during the festival; details below.
Cambridge Nature Festival 2026
The Rivers of Film Shorts 2025 returned for two special showings during the Cambridge Nature Festival (May/June 2026), as part of the University Library and Pembroke College’s Living Waters programme.
Rivers of Film Shorts 2025
Ten filmmakers took on the challenge of creating a short film on their chosen theme during Summer 2025. They received a small grant We are currently planning a tour (Rivers of Film on the Road). Please contact events@watersencam.co.uk for further information.
These films will be made available on this website in due course.
| Title | Filmmaker | Duration |
| Avona | Charlotte Sawyer | 10m |
| Confluence | Tom Scott & Chris Mizsak | 14m 32s |
| Dart | Emma George | 6m |
| Flow States | Sarah Gibson-Yates | 7m 47s |
| Remember To Remember | Vey Straker | tbd |
| Rise and Fall | James Roberts | 5m 23s |
| Testing The Waters | Nigel Kinnings | 16m 12s |
| The Sink | Alessia Mavakala | 9m 53s |
| Tides | Amira Orr | |
| Ways Of Water | Diana Scarborough | 9m 19s |
The Clare Crossman ‘Waterlight’ Award
Clare Crossman (1954-2021) was a poet and writing tutor who forged a deep connection to the River Mel. ‘Waterlight’ (2019) has inspired considerable creative engagement and activism with local chalk streams, and we wish to take this opportunity to commemorate Clare’s work and create an award in her memory, with gratitude.
A panel of river writers and creatives have been asked to choose one of the micro-commissions that embodies Clare’s approach to life.
The award was given to James Robert’s Rise and Fall.
Rivers of Film Festival 2025 Event Partners
Cambridge Past, Present & Future commissioned this project as part of the The River CamCAN (Climate Action Through Nature) a two-year project that aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the River Cam, and inspire people to take action to help., and funded by the Community Fund of the National Lottery.
| Dates | 2025-2026 |
| Status | Complete |
| Area of habitat created or improved | n/a |
| Location | Various venues in and around Cambridge |
Partners and Funders
With support from
