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News

Is the L.A. River Really a River? Documentary Screening at Hollyshorts Film Fest Explores the Controversy

Zach Behrens

Published Aug 6, 2009 11:00 PM

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Remember last year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed taking away “traditional navigable waters" status for the Los Angeles river? That stirred some major controversy including a three-day kayak trip from the Valley to the ocean by a group of activists set out to prove the river's navigability. Heather Wiley, who works for the Army Corp and disagrees with their decision, was caught up in the mess.

Now her story is part of a short documentary called Heather and Goliath that will play this weekend at the HollyShorts film festival (it's also embedded above, but we recommend checking out the festival anyway because short films rule). The filmmakers behind the short are now at work on a feature-length documentary, Rock the Boat, about the river and clean water politics in the country.

LAist photographer Tom Andrews tagged along for all three days so you can see the rapids, the basin, the narrows, the graffiti and the ocean. Check out the photos here, here and here.