MISSISSIPPI

Tales of the Last River Rat

AGB Films for BBC NHU/BBC Worldwide/Discovery Channel

An intimate and poetic portrait of wildlife along the Upper Mississippi River, seen through the eyes of Kenny Salwey; a beguiling backwoodsman, storyteller and philosopher of nature, who has lived his life in a log cabin, a stone's throw from the water's edge.

This multi-award winning film is a sumptuous evocation of the outstanding natural beauty of one of America's most iconic rivers. A story that focuses on the plants and animals closest to the narrator's heart. Country blues combined with wild tracks recorded on location, add an authentic atmosphere to the story of Kenny Salwey's deep spiritual connection to the mighty Mississippi.

 

AWARDS

GRIERSON BRITISH DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Science and Natural History

EMMY AWARD
Cinematography

ROYL TELEVISION SOCIETY AWARD
Lighting Photography

KODAK CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival

INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD
Best Wildlife Film Festival

INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD, France
‘Grand Prix” and Public Prize

WILDSCREEN AWARD
Best Music

WILDSCREEN NOMINATION
Panasonic Cinematography Award

EMMY NOMINATION
Music and Sound

GALLERY

 

REVIEWS

Kenny himself is one of those flowers who are born to bloom unseen unless they are spotted by a sympathetic producer and poetic photographer. (I had never noticed before how water behaves on a duck's back. It rolls around like mercury.) As the producer's name, Andrew Graham-Brown, suggests, this is a British production.

NANCY BANKS-SMITH, THE GUARDIAN

 

...it's probably the most languorously beautiful film you've seen for sometime. There's a poetic quality about Andrew Graham-Brown's film...

RADIO TIMES

 

If it were possible to give two upward thumbs, this documentary would easily earn the extra kudos.... Before long you're completely drawn in to his world and you feel a real pull of regret when the program ends and you have to leave.

JUDY ADAMSON SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

 

In terms of natural history film making this is an outstanding programme.

THE OBSERVER

 

…an exquisitely filmed documentary…

THE GUARDIAN

 

Stunningly beautiful and poetic photography .... Sensuous and languid, the remarkable footage captured all the moods of the river at all times of day and year. Often complex filming techniques never got in the way of the subject or mood of the piece. This was a near-perfect piece of natural history filming.

ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY

 

CREDITS

Producer/Director: Andrew Graham-Brown

Photographer: Neil Rettig

Film Editor: Nigel Buck

Series Editor: Mike Gunton