Winning Okanagan water documentary’s theme is universal

KELOWNA – A documentary with an Okanagan connection that evokes a universal theme recently won a prestigious industry award.

Jiri and Lucie Bakala, the husband and wife production team of Ascent Films Inc. won the Award of Excellence from The Impact DOCS Awards Competition for their documentary titled “A River Film", according to a media release.

A River Film was produced for the International Joint Commission along with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

The film describes the transboundary management of water resources in the Okanagan/Okanogan basin and Osoyoos Lake.

It presents perspectives of all water stakeholders including water managers, farmers, First Nations and scientists, presenting themes that are universal and applicable to other transboundary watersheds across the U.S. and Canadian borders.

The choice of Bakala’s film was made from documentaries entered from 30 different countries, and judged by qualified award winning professionals in the film and television industry, the release says.

“The judges and I were simply blown away by the variety and immensely important documentaries we screened. Impact DOCS is not an easy award to win. The goal of Impact DOCS is to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve for their dedication and hard work,” Impact DOCS Chair Rick Prickett says in the release.

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