Monday, 25 December 2017

Premiere of the documentary “Sparkling Rivers”

ERR together with Mondo and the film-makers writer Anna Gavronski, director Märten Vaher  and cinematographer Meelis Kadastik organised public screening to the documentary.



On 7nd February 2017 the documentary “Sparkling Rivers” was premiered in Kinomaja cinema in Tallinn with 75 viewers.


 The Estonian Green Movement project coordinator Mihkel Annus speaks.




On the right: Estonian Green Movement project coordinator Mihkel Annus, author of film “Sparkling Rivers” Anna Gavronski, Estonian Roundtable for Development Cooperation renewable energy specialist Sigrid Solnik, Eesti Energia renewable energy specialist Innar Kaasik and neighbour of the biggest hydro in Estonia Margus Teemant. 

Briefly about the film.

Georgia is not only a country of wine and high mountains, but it has also more than 25.000 rivers. Running water is a richness that has been noticed by a lot of investors and made Georgia their desired destination. Even now 80 per cent of Georgian electricity comes from hydroelectricity power plants and in the near future there are plans to construct more than 100 new stations. For thousands of people it means they have to be resettled. Shady deals, unclear investors registered in tax havens, energy minister’s business interests in the hydro construction company and deaths by landslides during construction of one large hydro. Is that a fair price for Georgian people have to pay? Environmental activist Dato Chipashvili fights against these hundred million investment projects putting the interests of local people and transparency first.


After five-hour drive from Tbilisi we arrived at the Enguri dam, the world’s second highest dam of its kind. We were stunned, the concrete arch was gigantic, its height is 271.5 meters.


Our guide Dato Chipashvili from an NGO called Green Alternative explained, how in his opinion the old dam could be made more effective.


The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has agreed to provide US$200 million for Georgia's 280-MW Nenskra hydropower plant. On the other hand, people from Nakra village are afraid that their homes will be flushed away by a mud river.


We had been asking for an interview with the minister of energy Kakha Kaladze.

The film Sparkling Rivers was selected to the official programme of Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival FICMA and won the award for the best short documentary.

Besides Barcelona our film Sparkling Rivers was shown in October at the SunChild International Environmental Festival in Yerevan, Armenia. The festival is the first and only of its kind in the South Caucasus region. Our film was one of the 83 films chosen for the official section, it was selected from 1214 submitted films.

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