River of Grass Grows @Hot Docs 2025

Director Sasha Wortzel recently won the Hot Docs Joan VanDuzer Special Jury Prize-International Feature Documentary for her film River of Grass. The documentary is an ode to the Everglades in Florida, which was once considered a worthless swamp almost a century ago. The film is also built upon the foundation of Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s groundbreaking book, “The Everglades: River of Grass,” which was written in 1947. The visionary and environmentalist who travelled to and then resided in Florida had much to say about how this once pristine aspect of Florida has now turned into an ecosystem that does not complement the weather but rather its inhabitants.

Taking passages from the book and the wit of Douglas through archival interviews, Wortzel is then introduced to an indigenous community that once resided in the Everglades and built their community. The Miccosukee tribe and educator Betty Osceola is introduced in the film to speak to their culture in and how they were affected through development. Director Sasha Wortzel seamlessly moves back and forth amongst Douglas, the Miccosukee tribe and sequences of the past and present ecosystem of The Everglades. Douglas gives more of a historic perspective of the southern part of Florida in where many started to inhabit at the turn of the century. Just like any development that took place in history, people found a form of resource and capitalized on and commoditized it for their profit. It was the freshwater that was plentiful under the swam-water, and this development hindered the Miccosukee community.

The development of Miami is one of the most striking chapters of River of Grass. What is now a massive tourist spot globally was once a place where the Everglades encompassed. From the archival footage of its new inhabitants to the building of Miami’s International Airport, this city is an interesting look in the film, seeing how most people think that it will be under the ocean.

There’s mentions of the state’s strongest hurricanes, such as Andrew and Irma in which many believe are the result of the degradation of the ecosystem by inhabitants. It’s almost a rule of thumb to think that Miami will be under water in the not-so-distant future. Whenever a hurricane comes to The Everglades and into the state of Florida, it is seen as a cleansing of all the wrongdoing, not only in a social and political context but environmental as well.

Director Sasha Wortzel does pay homage to the animals of The Everglades, such as the conch, possum, snake, or alligator. Each animal has a role to play in the ecosystem and food chain of the Everglades, but today those roles are a lot different from what they used to be. One thing for sure is that Wortzel does not forget this important aspect of the Everglades ecosystem, which makes it so unique.

But it’s the grass that makes the Everglades so unique, which allows communities such as Miccosukee to tell their stories about how they grew up admiring the height and length these grasses would grow. It was the animals that used the grass to survive, and it was the community that wanted to keep its beauty. The grass is what gave The Everglades its colour and the community its purpose. The grass would also signify the weather and season, which would allow both the animal kingdom and humans to flourish.

River of Grass is a great documentary because it educates those like FERNTV and the audience on the history of the Everglades. There is a certain stigma that surrounds this area, but in today’s media, there is not much mention of its current ecosystem. Its great of Director Sasha Wortzel to bring this subject to our attention, and that even places like this has much environmental degradation and undoubtedly environmental racism to be concerned about. But to do it seamlessly and poetically, like Wortzel, is the only way to bring about change and listen to the River of Grass if it is in dire trouble.