RIVER OF GRASS

After a SOLD OUT opening weekend in Miami, RIVER OF GRASS opens in New York City this Friday October 24 @dctvny ! We’re honored to partner with Queer | Art, American Indian Community House, and Jewish Currents, and to be in conversation with incredible artists and activists like Tourmaline, Betty Osceola, Arielle Angel and many more. Opening weekend includes, on Friday, a discussion moderated by @tourmaliiine and reception cohosted by @queerart , plus on Sunday, catch a special pre-screening performance by our composer @little_miss_echo 💫 Tickets are selling fast! Get yours at the link in our bio 🐊

As 2025 comes to a close, we are reflecting on what an incredible year it has been sharing our film with audiences far and wide. RIVER OF GRASS premiered at the renowned True/False Film Festival, screened at festivals world-wide, and garnered awards at the IDA, Hot Docs, Margaret Mead, and others. In October, we launched our largely SOLD OUT theatrical release in Miami and New York with an exceptional line-up of community partners, artists, environmentalists, and cultural workers. And earlier this month in Los Angeles at the 2025 IDA Awards, RIVER OF GRASS was a nominee for Best Writing and won the Pare Lorentz Award! Thank you all for being part of our film’s journey! Join us for a local screening near you in 2026 💚 #IDADocAwards

Thank you, Florida Film Critics for awarding the Golden Orange to RIVER OF GRASS! It is a great honor to be recognized by our home state. 🍊✨🥹 “Golden Orange, awarded to outstanding contributions to film by a Floridian, went to River of Grass. Sasha Wortzel’s poetic documentary about the fragility of the Everglades serves as a timely piece, not only presenting its history through the words of writer and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, but highlighting the native and queer voices that defend these historic landscapes today.”

Last week, hundreds of our most loyal supporters joined with new friends for a special screening of Sasha Wortzel’s “River of Grass” at the Lyric Theatre in historic downtown Stuart. We were reminded of the spellbinding power of the Everglades that unites us as Floridians. ✨ Our evening together served as inspiration as we continue to battle new and ongoing threats to the world’s only Everglades: our landmark lawsuit against the notorious “Alligator Alcatraz,” our work to stop Big Sugar’s pollution and our campaign to Rescue the River of Grass, to name a few. Thank you Friends of the Everglades supporters, near and far, for supporting our mission and remaining engaged. #everglades #florida #riverofgrass #marjorystonemandouglas

Packed house for our screening at @ocinema as part of their Awake and Aware Series! This special showing included a guided meditation @susavasana , Miccosukee inspired brunch by Tori’s Kitchen and a Q&A with archival producer @mmberra and poet @saintfrancess Consulting producer @ottercypress was also in attendance (with a gorgeous turtle shell!) 🐢 Thank you for all the love for our film and beloved Everglades home, Miami Beach!! Missed the screening? Catch the film this Wednesday May 6 in Stuart @liveatthelyric with @friendsoftheeverglades

SPECIAL SCREENING : RIVER OF GRASS SUNDAY, MAY 17 at 1:00PM RIVER OF GRASS is a present-day reimagining of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s celebrated book, “The Everglades: River of Grass,” (1947), which forever changed the public’s understanding of the area from worthless swamps to an essential source of freshwater, enabling the ecosystem to endure, just barely, today. In the wake of a hurricane, Douglas visits filmmaker Sasha Wortzel in a dream, catalyzing a prismatic journey across the Everglades with Miccosukee educator and activist Betty Osceola. We meet a mother taking on the polluting sugar industry; a two-spirit Miccosukee environmentalist and poet; a mother-daughter team removing snakes wreaking havoc on the ecosystem; and a family who have fished in the Everglades for six generations. Interweaving Douglas’s writing, personal narration, present-day verité, and archival footage, RIVER OF GRASS reveals how this country’s origin story haunts and inextricably shapes contemporary American life, while asking how we might weather coming storms better together. AWARDS Pare Lorentz Award, International Documentary Association Awards Golden Orange, Florida Film Critics Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary Award, Hot Docs Mead Audience Award, Margaret Mead Film Festival Florida Filmmaker Award, Tallahassee Film Festival Special Jury Mention, Sarasota Film Festival

Join us this Saturday, May 2, for a truly special Awake & Aware morning: brunch, film, and a live conversation about the land that defines South Florida.⁠ ⁠ River of Grass invites audiences into the fragile, ethereal beauty of the Florida Everglades, where memory, ecology, and resistance flow together like water through sawgrass. In this lyrical new documentary, filmmaker @sashawortzel reimagines The Everglades through a contemporary lens, weaving together archival imagery, personal reflection, and voices from the communities fighting to protect one of the world's most endangered ecosystems. Guided by Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola, the film becomes an immersive meditation on what it means to listen deeply to a landscape at the edge of change.⁠ ⁠ Here's how the morning unfolds:⁠ 11:00 AM: Doors open + Brunch served⁠ 11:45 AM: Guided Meditation with Susana Saumell (@susavasana )⁠ 12:00 PM: Film starts⁠ 1:30 PM: Post-film discussion with producer Monica Berra (@mmberra ) and artist and poet Francess Dunbar (@saintfrancess )⁠ ⁠ Brunch is a Miccosukee-inspired menu created by Tori's Kitchen: golden stuffed frybread filled with beans, tomatoes, and savory goodness, plus fried pumpkin donuts topped with pecans. Vegetarian-friendly. Learn more at .⁠ ⁠ Tickets:⁠ Adult w/ Brunch: $30⁠ Older Adults / Students & Teachers / Children / Military: $27⁠ O Cinema Members w/ Brunch: $25⁠ General Admission (without Brunch): $15⁠ O Cinema Members (without Brunch): $12⁠ ⁠ 🎟️ Tickets: /events/river-of-grass-2 (link in bio)⁠ 📅 This Saturday, May 2 at 11:00 AM⁠ ⁠ @riverofgrassdoc @love_the_everglades ⁠ ⁠ 🌿 #RiverOfGrass #AwakeAndAware #OCinema #SouthBeach #Everglades #FloridaEverglades #Documentary #IndependentFilm #MiamiFilm

We celebrated Earth Day with a workshop and screening @mediasanctuary in Troy, NY followed by a Q&A with film participant and Miccosukee environmentalist @bettyosceola and filmmaker @sashawortzel Thank you for having us! 🌎

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 One great way to celebrate our home planet is with a film that honors one of nature's most unique ecosystems — the Everglades! Join us for a special screening of @sashawortzel ’s award-winning River of Grass — a moving ode to the Everglades, told through the powerful writings of Friends of the Everglades founder Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the indigenous voices of those who still call the region home. Tag your Earth-loving bestie who needs to be there with you! 🌱👇 📅 May 6 at 6 📍 The Lyric Theatre in downtownStuart, FL 🎟️ Tickets: $25 | Link in bio @riverofgrassdoc #EarthDay #RiverOfGrass #Everglades #MarjoryStonemanDouglas #Florida

Join us for the documentary film “River of Grass” on Wed., April 22. Director Sasha Wortzel @sashawortzel will lead a Be The Media! workshop on Community Collaboration and Reciprocity from 5-6pm. @riverofgrassdoc will be screened at 7pm followed by a Q&A with Director Sasha Wortzel and virtual guest Miccosukee educator and activist Betty Osceola @bettyosceola . Register at This is an iEar Presents! collaboration @rpi_hass RIVER OF GRASS is a present-day reimagining of environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s celebrated book, “The Everglades: River of Grass,” (1947), which forever changed the public’s understanding of the area from worthless swamps to an essential source of freshwater, enabling the ecosystem to endure, just barely, today. In the wake of a hurricane, Douglas visits filmmaker Sasha Wortzel in a dream, catalyzing a prismatic journey across the Everglades with Miccosukee educator and activist Betty Osceola. Interweaving Douglas's writing, personal narration, present-day verité, and archival footage, RIVER OF GRASS reveals how this country’s origin story haunts and inextricably shapes contemporary American life, while asking how we might weather coming storms better together. Image description: 1- the film poster for “River of Grass,” a green and blue watercolor painting weave over a white background to look like a river. At the top are some of the film festival emblems which this film has been awarded. Quotes at the top: “winking and wondrous… bewitching” by Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com, “a vivid love letter to the land and a call for its protection” by Pat Mulen of POV Magazine. 2- a graphic for the event with the background image a photograph of the Everglades (grassy landscape, meandering water, and a blue sky with a large white cloud). In the sky are the headshots of Sasha Wortzel and Betty Osceola.

Join us on Earth Day for a screening and community workshop at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY! The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Miccosukee educator & lead film participant Betty Osceola and director Sasha Wortzel. Wed April 22 @mediasanctuary 5-6pm Community Collaboration workshop 7-9pm RIVER OF GRASS film Screening followed by Q&A with @bettyosceola and @sashawortzel Registration link in bio

The Everglades have the spotlight. 🌿✨ Join us at the Lyric Theatre on May 6 for a special screening of River of Grass, an award-winning documentary by Sasha Wortzel. This film is a stunning tribute to the Everglades, weaving together the timeless words of Marjory Stoneman Douglas with the voices of those protecting the region today. 📍 Where: Lyric Theatre, Stuart, FL 🗓️ When: May 6 🎟️ Tickets: Link in bio Stick around after the credits for: 🎤 A live Q&A with Director/Producer Sasha Wortzel & Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples 🍷 A wine and cheese reception to keep the conversation flowing Don’t miss this "moving ode" to our backyard. See you there! #riverofgrass #everglades #florida #stuartfl