Mike Lemmer : We are here with Ryan Olinger, filmmaker. We're part of the mid-Colorado Watershed 2026 Fire and Water Series. Ryan, thanks for joining us.
Ryan Olinger: Pleasure to be here.
ML: Tell us a bit about the film that we saw here tonight.
RO: So we just screened The American Southwest. It is a journey down the incredible and mighty Colorado River from the headwaters all the way to where it used to reach the sea in the delta. It's told through the lens of wildlife as well as how we manage the river, where the water goes, we talk about agriculture, we also talk about the history of this region, [and] the native indigenous perspective on the river. We talk about as much as we can in an hour and a half feature on the Colorado River 'cause that's what it deserves.
ML: And it was an excellent film. What all went into the making of this film? It was very detailed.
RO: So we partnered with a lot of tremendous organizations to make this film possible and to make it accurate, uh, our main conservation partner was American Rivers, and they did a fantastic job of making sure we didn't mess up any of the facts when it came to quantities of the river and things like that.
ML: What's the main message that you're trying to get across with this film here? What do you hope that people take away from it?
RO: I want everyone that lives in the Southwest to understand the importance of the river, the complexities of the river, how incredibly beautiful and diverse this river is, and how impactful we have been on the river, but also how we can save the river.
ML: There was a lot of humorous parts too. Especially watching it with the room full of people. We had 160 people here tonight. Was that intentional? You know, a lot of great funny parts there with, with the wildlife. What do you think of the reaction to people?
RO: Yeah, absolutely. It's always great being in a screening with people and getting that actual live reaction from people. So it has to be entertaining as well as educational.
ML: And, and really the humorous parts are kind of the, the humanizing of the, of the animals that we're seeing, right?
RO: Yeah. I'm never a big fan of like, anthropomorphizing, but uh, you know, whether you're a stubborn teenager going through puberty as a young bull elk trying to find his harem. Or you're a a salmon fly trying to find a mate. You know, so much of that is already real, where we don't have to anthropomorphize it so much. But just presenting the realities of what it's like to be these species can also just be entertaining in itself.
ML: And we had all ages here tonight watching it, and a great q and a session afterwards. What are some of the questions that stuck out to you with the, afterwards, after the film?
RO: I mean, I always love it when kids ask questions, it inspires me. It fills me with so much hope. We had questions about 'how did you film Jaguars without being attacked?' Which was adorable. And I had to, you know, Jaguars actually don't attack people. And we use, you know, remote cameras for that kind of stuff... 'how do you film the rattlesnakes after they mated for 24 hours?' You know, like all that kind of fun stuff. Um, and it's really engaging. But I do hope, and I do think in the closing of these kind of panels, that people do take away a sense of hope. And I believe that the audience tonight left with that inspiring bit of what we've done to the river, we can undo. And the health of the river can really, truly be beyond anything that any of us has ever experienced. And that is entirely up to us.
ML: This was part of the Middle Colorado Watershed's Fire and Water series here. What are your thoughts on what they're doing personally,
RO: I think it's great. I mean, we need people in every section of the river. Whether it's doing cleanups, outreach, um, and just speaking up for the river, and I think they're doing a great job. I was super honored to come up here and be a part of the people that are boots on the ground trying to manage this river and trying to help this river out. And I'm just super grateful to be a part of it and honored to be. They're a great organization. I hope more people reach out and support them from this screening and beyond.
ML: It was a pleasure having you here tonight. Uh, what's in the future here for you, Ryan?
RO: The next step is, you know, there's countless, countless topics to talk about and to document. But I'm heading back to my home state of Arizona and I'm gonna focus on a new series on the diversity of the state, focusing on the different biomes from deserts, grasslands, scrub oaks, woodlands, forest, all the way up to Alpine, and documenting and showing you all these species that you definitely did not know existed in Arizona, and probably show some unique behavior that's really never been documented before. And we're going to do that with conservation partners, as we did with American Southwest, as we did today with Middle Colorado River Watershed Council, because that's what makes all of these series impactful and important and possible.
So [what] we need for me to make this next series, I need all the nonprofits in Arizona to come together and them to help share, and the researchers and the scientists, just like to make The American Southwest. We needed all the amazing organizations. So if you want to help, not just this series, but any series in the future, really, it's continuing to support your local nonprofits, your boots on the ground conservationists, because they're the ones doing the real work. And then we're just making it look good.
ML: And one more time, just to kind of sum up the whole film that we saw tonight to kind of encourage people to see it. How would you sum up the whole thing?
RO: A wildlife adventure down the most important river in North America.
ML: Very well said. Thank you for joining us, Ryan.
RO: Pleasure
