Following the North American Premiere of Upstream Battle at TIFF, the Karuk and Hoopa Tribes in California reacted to a recent statement on the film by Warren Buffett's PacifiCorp.

Our film documents the tribes' fight for the survival of their salmon-based culture. They demand complete removal of four large hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River which are owned by PacifiCorp, an energy company controlled by Buffett, the richest man in the world.

PacifiCorp managers issued their first public statement in response to Upstream Battle (see my report last week) They surprisingly announced: "Today, we are closer than we've ever been to a positive resolution for the Klamath."

Ron Reed and Mike Polmateer (pictured above with producer Joachim Schroeder) of the Karuk Tribe, who participated in the documentary and had come to TIFF from their remote homeland in far Northern California, dismissed PacifiCorp's claim as "PR spin." Reed told the Toronto audience how he had spent years attending meetings on dam relicensing and explaining how the hydro project affected their culture, only to see the corporation file its application saying "there was no significant impact."

Given the film's emphasis on the tribal viewpoint, PacifiCorp also said in its statement: "This film clearly advocates on behalf of one unique perspective."

Merv George Jr.(pictured right), a Hoopa Tribal Member featured in the documentary, responded by pointing out PacifiCorp's own participation in the documentary: "Upstream Battle is a unique film that demonstrates the many different perspectives that are shared in the Klamath River Basin. Ben Kempas spent a lot of time with the various stakeholders and with Pacificorp to validate and to inform the viewer how complex this issue is."

George, who had travelled to Munich, Germany for the film's world premiere in May, continued: "Many in the tribal communities have always believed that once the public is informed of the many social, economic, and cultural injustices that have occurred since the Klamath Dams have been built (early 1900's); change is inevitable. The facts speak for themselves and it is obvious who is the villian and who are the victims. For years corporate profits have outweighed the river's cries for help. Now that the economic peak is over, it is time for these salmon-killing dams to go. Stay tuned for the largest dam removal project in the world--and better yet, keep informed about our Klamath Upstream Battle."

The Upstream Battle crew had a great time at TIFF and looks forward to RIFF, the Reykjavik International Film Festival later this month. It must be an Icelandic wild-salmon connection that got us in there. RIFF will showcase Upstream Battle together with other environmental docs.

On their last day in Toronto, after a visit to the CN Tower, Ron Reed and Mike Polmateer discovered a salmon run in downtown Toronto (pictured below). "Look at this," Reed said. "They're going right THROUGH the dam."

Just three days before the North American launch of our documentary  Upstream Battle at TIFF, there's breaking news from PacifiCorp, an energy company that is now part of the empire of Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world. Native American tribes on the Klamath River blame four of PacifiCorp's hydroelectric dams for depleted fish stocks and massive impacts on their culture.

Upstream Battle chronicles the tribes' struggle to achieve complete removal of the four dams. Reviewers appreciate how the film follows and "humanizes" all parties in the conflict, including the utility managers.

Today, PacifiCorp managers issued their first public statement in response to Upstream Battle. Following congratulations on the film's recognition in Toronto, PacifiCorp announces:

"Today, we are closer than we?ve ever been to a positive resolution for the Klamath; however, to maintain integrity and candor at the negotiating table, all parties involved have agreed to keep details confidential until we?ve reached a formal agreement. We remain at the settlement table with Oregon, California and federal officials, working toward a possible resolution. Those talks have been productive and we continue to meet."

In other words, we believe that the largest dam removal project in history just got a little bit closer.

In my first post from Toronto, I'm delighted to announce that two special guests will join producer Joachim Schroeder and me at the North American Premiere of Upstream Battle at TIFF on Monday.

Ron Reed (pictured  below right) and his brother Mike Polmateer (above) are members of the Karuk Tribe of California and work for the tribal Department of Natural Resources. Their participation in Upstream Battle has been essential. I first met them in Glasgow when they argued with Scottish Power's shareholders (pictured), and visited them on the Klamath River many times. I witnessed Ron winning commercial fishermen over, and finally followed the brothers through the doors of Warren Buffett's annual "Woodstock for Capitalists" in Omaha.

In a Karuk press release on the film, Reed says: "It's important for people to better understand our cultures and the struggles we continue to face as Indigenous People. That's how we convince people that the survival of our culture is the benefit of all people."

Talking about Woodstock - that's where we're going to have our U.S. Premiere, close on the heels of TIFF, at the "fiercly independent" film festival. Following this, the film (and hopefully even the filmmaker!) will travel to the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Here at TIFF, the first press and industry screening of Upstream Battle is today (Sept 4) at 4:30pm in the VARSITY 7 theatre.

Back in 2005, we made a first visit to their homelands in far Northern California. Like most Europeans, I had never visited an ?Indian reservation?. We were invited to attend the annual World Renewal Ceremonies of the Karuk and Hoopa tribes, and on our arrival, we suddenly became aware that access to the tribes wasn?t as easy as it first had seemed. The tribal members are very careful not to have their culture ?exploited?, and any recording of the ceremonies is strictly prohibited. Apparently, National Geographic always gets turned down when they enquire about filming the dances. One of the Karuk ceremonial leaders pointed to our camera: ?Last time a camera this big showed up here, it ended up in the river.?

We soon realized that we had to find a rather difficult balance between making a film and protecting what?s so precious to the tribes. Attending the sacred dances without a camera helped us gain trust from the tribal communities, but more importantly, it gave us an idea of the spiritual power that makes these ceremonies so unique. We learned to understand the need for the ceremonies to be protected. Still, we wanted to give our audience an idea of the incredible atmosphere and an understanding why this culture needs to be protected.  Thankfully, one year later, Ron Reed (pictured right) and his brothers invited us to film their War Dance, a rather informal but still impressive family event, fragments of which can be seen in Upstream Battle.

There are many more stakeholders around the Klamath River. Commercial fishermen fight for their share of the salmon, irrigators fight for water, and the energy utility fights for cheap, reliable electricity. But how could we possibly convince the managers to come on board?

I recalled a Dutch documentary I saw back in 1999 at IDFA in Amsterdam. I was very impressed with the way Een Geschenk uit de Hemel told the story of the Brent Spar controversy from the perspectives of both Greenpeace and Shell Oil, mainly in retrospect. Now, if we could do something similar, but actually be there when things are happening on both sides...

Yet, why should any corporation agree to be part of a film which, in the managers' eyes, is likely to portray them as ?the bad guys?? PacifiCorp, operators of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project and at the time a U.S. subsidiary of ScottishPower, started to realize that it was better for them to participate than to remain an anonymous facade. So we met with the managers, they requested previous films as well as contact details for former protagonists as a reference. I hadn't come across such a request before, but I happily referred PacifiCorp to a U.K. Member of Parliament, to an "Alternative Nobel Prize" laureate, and to a former double agent.

Finally, we got permission to shoot inside the company's headquarters in Portland, Oregon, as well as at all the dams and powerhouses. It has to be noted that there is a strange similarity between utility managers and tribal members: they both knew exactly what they would say or do in front of a camera -- and what they wouldn?t.

There was a period of silence following the sale of PacifiCorp from ScottishPower to Warren Buffett, but eventually, the corporation opened up again. Finally, in 2007, we followed Hoopa tribal member Merv George who towed his redwood dugout canoe across America, on a mission to confront the new owner of the dams: the second-richest man in the United States back then, now the richest in the world. Buffett's investment company gave us limited access to their annual ?Woodstock for Capitalists?. In a way, they had to. One of their shareholders had given us a spare pass to the meeting.

There's one inevitable question, at every Q&A session, at every film festival, for every documentary filmmaker: "Tell us, how did you come across this story?"

In the case of Upstream Battle, the question will be like this: "Where did a filmmaker from Germany hear about this conflict between Native American tribes and an energy corporation, taking place in one of the most remote areas of the United States?" Well, the answer is simple: in Scotland.

A very good friend in Edinburgh deserves all the credit for the existence of this film. Stan Blackley specialises in environmental PR work, and he told me about a couple of tribal delegates who were coming to the UK to take on an energy giant, ScottishPower. In 2005, this Glasgow-based utility was one of the 25 largest in the world. Native Americans travelling half-way around the globe to fight for their river -- it truly is a David-against-Goliath story of today's world.

Stan was helping the tribes reach the British media, and I flew to Scotland to see what was going on. For some reason, I instantly connected to Merv and Wendy George (pictured right), to Ron Reed and Craig Tucker, to Richard Myers and Jeff Mitchell.(pictured above right) It soon became clear that all of them would have to be part of a documentary, but I had no idea that this would keep me busy for the next three years.

What did I know about the "American Indian"? Only what the European media had told me: that they still existed, stuck in reservations away from their old homelands; that they had huge problems with unemployment, poverty, and drugs; but some tribes had started very successful casinos. So I guess I knew a little more than those people in Glasgow who asked the visitors if they still lived in tepees.

Yet, our first research trip to the Klamath River in Northern California surprised my partner Magdalena and me in many ways. These tribes still inhabit a good part of their ancestral territory. In fact, the first white settlers didn't show up there before the 1850s. Many tribal members withstood the Christian missionaries and have managed to keep their traditional ceremonies going without interruption. Although their grandparents were sent to far-away boarding schools and punished for speaking their own language, people can still speak Yurok, Karuk, or Hupa today. Yet, Merv races jet boats and plays the drums in a rock'n'roll band. "It's all about balance," he explains.

But access to the tribes wasn't as easy as it first seemed. I'll soon tell you more about this -- and how we convinced the energy company to be part of  Upstream Battle.

Upstream Battle got a whole new meaning and a Human Rights Award.

Our documentary Upstream Battle follows Native Americans in their fight for their salmon and for the survival of their culture ? against an energy corporation. Tribes along the Klamath River may trigger the largest dam removal project in history (more at www.upstreambattle.com). Between the film's world premiere in our home city of Munich and the upcoming North American premiere in Toronto, we just celebrated our first international screening in a very unique location: at the Dokufest in Prizren.

Kosovo, just having declared its independence earlier this year, is still full of KFOR troops and international police forces. In the introductory remarks to my screening, I mentioned that I felt very special to be presenting the film in this young Republic of Kosovo that had been fighting for its sovereignty for so long. So I wanted the audience to understand that my film was not just about an eco-battle but also about the fight for sovereignty of Native Americans tribes. Although, luckily, the last war in the Klamath Basin ended in 1873.

Despite the omnipresent military, life in Prizren is surprisingly relaxed, and it seems like the whole city is partying all night. The festival features two open-air and two "indoor" cinemas. It was wonderful to see Upstream Battle with nothing but the stars above us. Almost felt like the sky was an integral part of the movie. Just the calls of the muezzin and the music of the open-air bar next door altered our soundtrack.

Consulting producer Magdalena Hutter (pictured right) and I volunteered for a local river clean-up, initiated by two festival guests from Croatia. Compared to the Klamath River, Prizren's Bistrica sadly looks like a garbage dump. We did our best to clean up a good stretch, and our film's title became a whole new meaning. Unfortunately, the locals didn't understand the concept and weren't supportive at all. In fact, while we were collecting their rubbish in the riverbed, people would dump new stuff from the bridge above our heads. Clearly, this country still has greater worries than the environment.

On Sunday, we won Dokufest's Human Rights Award. We are delighted that the jury recognized that Upstream Battle is not just a film on fish but on all its social and cultural implications, including the health of tribal members and their right to exercise their religion.

And we would like to thank the Dokufest crew and the people of Prizren for making our days in Kosovo such a wonderful experience. We'll be back!