Upcoming Festivals

It has been an absolute joy to finally introduce this long-loved project to the world. Where There Once Was Water World-Premiered in Australia, and then made its debut in the USA at our amaaazing home-town SLO Film Fest.

Today we are excited to share our acceptance into the Blue Water Film Festival (details below), and the Sacramento International Film Festival (details TBA).

We also have our very first in-person screening (yay!!) scheduled for August at the beautiful Tablas Creek Vineyard. We hope to see you there! xo

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Your next opportunity to see "Where There Once Was Water" is at the Blue Water Film Festival. "Blue Water Film Festival uses the power of imagination, film, art and innovation to inspire audiences & thrust them into action on global issues." This Festival celebrates World Oceans Day. It is being presented in a virtual format this year, and will run from June 4 - July 3, 2021 online.

We are honored to be a part of this event. Our screening date is June 7th, and the film will be available in the online on-demand theatre from June 7th through July 3rd. For those who have been asking how to share the film with their friends (thank you!!) - this festival is a great way to do so. Festival Information & Tickets are available HERE

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Our very first in-person screening is scheduled for August 13th at the one-and-only Tablas Creek Vineyard. We are THRILLED about this event.

"Join us on our patio for our first live event at the winery in over a year! On the evening of August 13th we’ll be showing the documentary Where There Once Was Water by local photographer & filmmaker Brittany App. This film is dear to our hearts as it’s about the scarcity and use of water here in California and how sustainable farming practices can (and must) be part of the solution. Tablas Creek is featured in the film and we’re excited to spread awareness about both the subject and the film.

Come at 7pm for a glass of wine. At 7:15pm Brittany will join our Jason Haas, Neil Collins, and Jordan Lonborg to discuss our own path to Regenerative Organic Certification and Brittany's quest to make the film, and will answer questions. At dusk we'll screen the film."

Seats are limited for this special event. Reserve your spot HERE

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A special note to our Kickstarter Backers :

Thank you, as always, for your support, patience & love. We couldn't have done this without you! All Kickstarter rewards have now been delivered. If you have not yet received an email with instructions for reward fulfillment, please check your spam/junk folder for an email from me, and if it's not in there, please reach out asap.

Thank you, thank you, and Much Love. xo, Brittany

Updates & Gratitude

It has been an absolute joy to begin sharing this long-loved project with you all. Much Love to the Transitions Film Festival in Australia, and the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival in California, for premiering "Where There Once Was Water" to the World.

Feedback around the film has been incredible thus far, and it will be exciting to see where she lands in the world.

We are waiting to hear back from a number of upcoming Film Festivals, and will always share announcements here regarding where & how to see the film next, so stay tuned.

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Your next opportunity to see "Where There Once Was Water" is at the Global Freshwaters Virtual Summit & Film Festival. This event is happening in partnership with the Global Being Foundation, the Missouri History Museum and the Rights of Nature movement. The film festival host is Films for the Planet. Films are available April 16-23, and the Summit is April 19-23 (and it's all FREE!).

We are beyond honored to be a part of this incredible event.
Learn More & Register HERE

Round out your Global Freshwaters Summit experience with a "Where There Once Was Water" Closing Night Panel Discussion on April 23rd at 5pm Pacific.

Panelists will include:
Chief Caleen Sisk
Spiritual Leader & Chief, Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Clare Dubois
Founder, TreeSisters
Florencia Ramirez
Author, Eat Less Water
Brittany App
Director & Producer, Where There Once Was Water

Register (for free!) HERE

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A special note to our Kickstarter Backers :

Please keep an eye on your email inbox in the coming weeks. Kickstarter Reward Fulfillment is underway, and you will be receiving a personalized email with important information about how to access your rewards. These emails will all be delivered by the end of April. Thank you, as always, for your incredible support, patience & love. We couldn't do this without you! xo

This Moment

In truth, I’ve probably been working towards this moment my whole life.
In measurable project-timeline-time, I’ve been working towards this moment for seven years. Seven is a magical number. And I like magic.

Also magic, is to feel the feels of finishing a thing that I started so long ago. A story that was burning so bright within, that it necessitated its own birth. A community that believed in that story from the very beginning - who lit the match with their financial support, to bring this story, burning bright, bubbling up to the surface. 

And here we are. Together. In this moment that has finally (so close I can taste it) arrived. My film, my baby - this story that burned too bright to stay within - is ready … for the world … for you … for us. “Where There Once Was Water” has been selected as the Closing Night Film for the (virtual) San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. Closing Night is THIS SUNDAY, March 14th. Tickets are $15. Your ticket gets you online access to the film ANYtime on March 14th, plus a Live Panel Discussion at 5pm that evening. Please join. Please watch my film. Please absorb it into your being, and share your experience with me afterwards. It would quite literally mean the WORLD. 

And of course… Thank you to every single one of you who has helped to make this moment possible. Thank you to my editor, Garrett Russell. My composer, Brandon Maahs. Thank you to everyone in the film who trusted me with their story. Thank you to you all. I hope this film inspires you, and inspires us all, to love water, to be in relationship with water, and to write a new story, together. A Song for the Sacred in all of us.

Tickets Now Available!

We are thrilled to be a part of the 2021 San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. This will be our US Premiere - the very first opportunity for folks here in the States to see the film. We are honored to have been selected as the CLOSING NIGHT FILM. Tickets are now available for this Special Event. See all the detail below. Much Love Friends!

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EVENT DETAILS

SPONSORED BY 98.1 KJUG & TWIN OAKS RANCH

Our Closing Night festivities will begin at 5:00pm with filmmaker awards in several categories: George Sidney, Central Coast, Filmmakers of Tomorrow and Music Video awards, as well as Audience Awards that will be voted on by festival audiences throughout the week. The Closing Night movie will start online at 9am PST on Sunday, March 14th and extend to March 17th for ticket holders and pass holders. After the awards presentations on Sunday, there will be a live discussion with Brittany App (Director, Writer, Producer) and some of the individuals featured in the film.
 

WHERE THERE ONCE WAS WATER
We are thrilled to close this year’s Festival with the U.S. Premiere of a new highly-anticipated documentary by Central Coast photographer/filmmaker, Brittany App. Beautifully filmed and articulated, this is a story about water and is focused on solutions. Centered on the American Southwest, Brittany introduces us to revolutionary new practices that are helping to restore and rebuild, confronting future water shortage issues head on. From reintroducing salmon and beavers to streams, to managing cattle holistically and using biodiversity techniques for vineyards, grazing and crops, this inspiring film asks the question: What can you do, in your life, to be a voice for the water?
 

Director: Brittany App

Writer: Brittany App, Garrett Russell

Producer: Brittany App

TICKETS: $15/$12(Film Society/Students) ticket includes virtual access(March 14th-17th), Closing awards Presentation, and panel

Panelists Include:
Kandi (Mossett) White
Native Energy and Climate Campaign Coordinator, Indigenous Environmental Network
Kate Lundquist
Co-Director of the WATER Institute & the “Bring Back the Beaver” Campaign, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
Jason Haas
Partner & General Manager, Tablas Creek Vineyard
Brittany App
Director & Producer, Where There Once Was Water

World & U.S. Premieres

Today is an exciting day, friends. "Where There Once Was Water" is complete, and the day has come to send this long-loved baby out into the world, to do the important work she was always meant to do. I am excited to announce the Festival dates for our World Premiere (in Australia!), and our US Premiere (right here in beautiful San Luis Obispo!). Aww, yeaaaaahh. Ready, set, here we GO!

We are honored to be an Official Selection for the Transitions Film Festival. This will be our World Premiere (in Australia! swoon) from Feb 26 - March 15, 2021. Transitions Film Festival will be virtual, and available to Australian Audiences only. Please share the good word with any/all of your Australian friends!
Info & tickets can be found at www.TransitionsFilmFestival.com

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"Where There Once Was Water" has been chosen as the Closing Night Film (omg!) for the 27th Annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. This is my home-town festival, and an absolute DREAM COME TRUE for me, as a first-time Filmmaker. The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, also known as Slo Film Fest (or SLOIFF) will be our official US Premiere. Slo Film Fest will be virtual, and available to audiences anywhere in the United States, March 9 -14, 2021. Don't miss this incredible festival, friends! Even though we can't be together in person this year, I do hope you will join us for our much-anticipated US Premiere. Hooray for dreams coming true!!
Festival info & tickets at www.SloFilmFest.org

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To my Kickstarter Backers - please keep your eyes peeled for some additional updates coming your way in the next couple of days.

To All - If you feel inspired to do so, please pass this info along to friends & family who may be interested in seeing the film, or even screening the film in the future. We're excited to get this message of hope out into the world, and we feel like *now* is truly the time.

Here's our official THEATRICAL TRAILER, which you are more than welcome to share on your social media channels. Much Love, y'all!

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Last but definitely not least, THANK YOU for your continued support, patience and feedback throughout this long-loved journey.

DRUMROLL PLEASE...

Today is an exciting day, friends. I have two big bits of news to share, and SO MUCH GRATITUDE. First, I'd like to formally introduce you to our official MOVIE POSTER. And second ... today we officially release the THEATRICAL TRAILER for "Where There Once Was Water". Thank you for everything you have done to get us to this point. It is a truly momentous occasion. xo

"Where There Once Was Water" is a song for the sacred in all of us. An invitation to change our perspective, rewrite the story, and heal our relationship with water ... one watershed, one meal, one raindrop, at a time. Water is love, and if we write it together, this love story may indeed become one for the ages.

If you feel inspired to do so, please feel free to pass this along to your friends & family. We'd be honored. We're excited to get this message of hope out into the world, and we feel like *now* is truly the time.

Last but definitely not least, THANK YOU for your continued support, patience and feedback throughout this long-loved journey. Feature-length film coming in 2021.

RUMINATING

I was ruminating on the idea of home this morning. As the frost melted off the tips of the soft ears of my alpaca boys. As the world woke up around me. Ruminating. As I landed on names for my two new ewes. Phoenix & Aughra. As I savored my hot cup of coffee. In a home that’s new, that somehow also feels like forever. 

Home. The idea of home. The look, the feel, the sensory experience of it. What it means. It seems like we’ve all reconsidered it in some way this year. Let go of a home. Found a home. Changed a home. Longed for home. Stayed at home. Isolate. Quarantine. Rebuild. Remodel. Move. Die. Sell. Buy.

Perhaps we’ve been hiding. Perhaps we’ve been caged. Perhaps we’ve loved every minute of it. Perhaps we’ve watched it all go up in flames. Perhaps all the containers that hold all of the memories are now pouring over and pouring out. Draining to the sea. To new humans. New stories. To memories not yet made. Memories we’ll be no part of making.

As all the other homes I’ve known vanish one by one, I am building up my own. She is made up of wide open spaces, frozen mornings, and baby steps. I have no idea what I’m doing. But I’m doing my best to just learn, and breathe, and do it anyway. One day at a time. One scrappy DIY project at a time. One new skill set at time. One free load of building materials, one kind & generous hand-me-down, one truckload, at a time. One day. One breath. One foot in front of the other. One. at a time. Forward momentum. Slow and steady.

The deep clean. The new start. The void. Who and where is home. What sayeth this strange liminal space. Perhaps this purge, this great unraveling, this quickly approaching conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, this year we call 2020… perhaps it is the end. Perhaps it is the beginning. Perhaps it’s all the same.

As far as our collective home - the state of our health and those who work tirelessly to care for it – I am worried about the weeks and months to come. Too many people getting together. Too many people flirting with death. Too many people ignoring science. Too many sick friends. Too many dead Americans. Our collective home is about to get real messy.

I hope you are well, friends. I hope you stay well. I hope those who feel like home, to you, are well. I hope you feel safe and loved and held, by some semblance of home, even if it’s entirely unfamiliar. I hope you can move through this time. Quietly. Slowly. Patiently. One day at a time. This weirdness won’t be forever, but it will be for a while longer yet.

I send you my love. And as always, my gratitude.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening.

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Say hello to Phoenix (always in the lead) and her twin sister Aughra.
These ladies are California Red Sheep, and the newest members of the family here at Chow Ranch.

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ONLINE MASK SHOP NOW LIVE

Since the holidays are here, and 2020 is weird, I have a weird offering to add to your holiday shopping options. I have captured many photos over the years, and it seems like many of them might look really nice … on your FACE.

I have scoured my photo archives and created over 100 unique mask designs, available in a variety of sizes and styles. You get 20% off on orders of four or more, so these puppies make great holiday gifts too! So, whether you wish to adorn your glorious face with alpacas, hot peppers, wildflowers, twinkle lights, a giant tarantula, or any array of strange & whimsical in between… may I present to you…

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There's still a few of these beauties left too. If you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, or a fun way to look towards the New Year (hallelujah!), please consider a calendar donation. For a minimum $30 donation, I’ll ship a custom 2021 “Where There Once Was Water” calendar right to your door. There’s only a handful of them left, and once they’re gone they’re gone, so if you want one (or two or three), grab em’ quick!

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From left to right, Spock, Falcor, and Ludo, the intrepid alpaca boys of Chow Ranch.
From our home to yours, we send our love and snuggles, and hope for brighter days ahead.

Full Moon. Full Mind.

How are you, friends? I hope you are healthy and safe in these turbulent times.

Amidst the ever-present unknowing of these strange long days, I've been diving deep ... 

Into the final stages of production on my film, into my writing, and into dreams of brighter days ahead. We must remember that there is a future beyond all of "this", and that we get to build it, together. 

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First things first, my darlings... I have an exciting announcement! (Especially if you are looking forward to 2021 as much as I am). As a final fundraising push to get this film across the finish line, you can now have your very own "Where There Once Was Water" 2021 Calendar. I have curated 12 favorite images from the project, and for a minimum $30 donation, I’ll ship a custom calendar straight to your door (with a personalized love note included of course). Calendars are a standard 8.5 x 11 inches closed, so double that when open (and would make great Christmas gifts for your friends, *wink wink*). 

Head to WhereThereOnceWasWater.com to donate/order your copy. This will be a VERY limited print run, so hurry on over and donate TODAY to secure your copy. Thank you all for your continued love and support on this long-lived and long-loved project. I genuinely couldn’t do this without you!

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The past month has been a busy one. Media outreach is amplifying as the film nears completion, and after a 5+ year gestation period, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that these are exciting times indeed. I was asked to write an article for the Fall 2020 Issue of EdibleSLO magazine about water issues in California, and the larger, more complex water / climate / agriculture puzzle through which we find ourselves wading. You can get your eyes, and maybe even your hands, on a copy, over at EdibleSanLuisObispo.com

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I had a super fun chat with author Julie K. Rose on her podcast "Love What You Love". We talk about filmmaking, semester at sea, bicycling across the United States, living off-grid, and so much more. You can listen in on her website at LoveWhatYouLovePod.com

For another uplifting conversation in an overwhelming time, check out this fun convo with Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd. We chatted about the film, my decision to move off-grid, and about our human connection to water. You can listen in on her website at Gardenerd.com

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Last but definitely not least, please watch (and share!) our OFFICIAL TRAILER. And until next time, much love to you all. Thank you for your continued support, patience and feedback.  I literally couldn't be doing this without you.