Mammoth Cave Film Premieres at DC Festival

A kind of perfect storm led to some creative filmmaking when a drone camera was caught in a downpour during production of the film Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region, Water connects us all. With the drone safely recovered and post-production completed, the film made its debut on March 18, 2021 in the DC Environmental Film Festival. The annual festival in the Nation’s Capital names itself the world’s premier showcase of environmentally themed films since 1993, and one of the leading annual cultural events in Washington, D.C. Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region was selected by jury to stream during the virtual festival.

At 412 miles, Mammoth Cave is the longest known linear cave system in the world. Water flowing underground sculpted the cave, and water seeping through South Central Kentucky’s porous karst geologic formation is the key to the Biosphere Region’s (BR) environmental and economic well-being. The film tells the story of people and organizations who work to protect groundwater resources through the voices of people in the BR: a farmer, Mammoth Cave National Park Ranger, kayaker, the Hidden River Cave manager, and a karst hydrologist, including members of the Mammoth Cave BR Advisory Council.

An anxious moment occurred during the shooting of the film when the airborne camera drone was caught in a downpour at the Western Kentucky University Green River Preserve. With the assistance of Marissa Schorr, Biosphere Scientist-in-the-Park intern, filmmaker Lia Nydes piloted the drone back to ground safely and brought back unique footage of raindrops falling over the Green River. USBN Coordinator Cliff McCreedy (NPS) and Lia Nydes, a graduate student fellow from the American University Center on Environmental Filmmaking (CEF) collaborated on the Mammoth Cave film.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the CEF produce films on various topics under a cooperative agreement through the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. NPS and CEF plan to make more films and compelling stories on the lands, waters and people in Biosphere Regions. Assisted by fellow graduate student Nick Tucker, Nydes and the Champlain Adirondack Biosphere Network also recently produced another film with beautiful footage of this BR located in New York and Vermont. NPS and CEF also will continue production of a separate series on the History of Science in the National Parks. These programs offer a professional development opportunity for young filmmakers and scholars, particularly women and minorities.

Watch Mammoth Cave Biosphere Region, Water connects us all.