Powerful flood stories return to the big screen in new director’s cut

A NEWLY revised director’s cut of a documentary chronicling the 2022 Lismore floods and their aftermath will screen at venues across the Northern Rivers this month.

Presenter and producer Kate Stroud said that, following an initial screening in 2025, she and director Catherine Baker decided to bring When the Rivers Rose back to local audiences ahead of forthcoming distribution announcements.

“We wanted to offer local people who couldn’t make it to the last screenings the opportunity to see it on the big screen at our local venues before its next chapter,” she said.

 

“We have included a wider range of venues and dates to accommodate all regions of the Northern Rivers.

“These screenings will directly help the wider distribution of the film, helping to share the story of our region reach a wider audience.”

The film, which won Best Woman Filmmaker at the Barcelona Planet Film Festival, features interviews with five people who share their experiences of the flood night and the complex recovery that followed.

“We chose to focus on the true human impact, because we are more than just statistics or a line marked on a wall and these climate disaster events have long-lasting significant impacts beyond data that is hard to quantify,” Stroud said.

 

“There were many who did such incredible acts of service to band together and respond in a way that only people who are interwoven in community can.

“We wanted to present a diverse and broad telling of the event.”

Stroud’s own home in South Lismore was among those inundated.

She and her partner spent six hours sheltering in her roof cavity on the night of the flood before being rescued by a man on a jet ski.

They later stayed with friends and then lived in a shipping container for seven months while their home was rebuilt.

 

The interviews featured in the film were conducted two years after the floods.

“Shooting within two years of the event meant the careful balance of experiences and emotions still being quite fresh in the mind of participants whilst having some time and distance to reflect,” Stroud said.

“With the time between versions we were also able to include information from the flood enquiry that strengthened the lived experience of our storytellers as well as having many in-depth conversations with community about the film and their personal experiences.”

Stroud said the pair had been buoyed by positive feedback from earlier screenings.

 

“Some people were reluctant to come as it was too soon to face it all again, but those who did have reflected that it was told in a thoughtful and considered manner,” she said.

When the River Rose is screening at The Regent Murwillumbah on Sunday April 12, Nimbin Bush Theatre on Saturday April 18, Lismore Cinema on Thursday April 23 and Sunday April 26, and Brunswick Picture House on Thursday April 30.

For more information and tickets, visit linktr.ee/whentheriverrosefilm