This is a river story about the sacred power of confluences, and a particular confluence of forged friendships bound to Whatcom Creek, where those stories merge, and where one tragic event has grown into a story of renewal and an appreciation for the interconnected nature of all things. This confluence formed around 18-year-old Liam Wood —a budding writer and environmentalist—and the 1999 tragedy that unfolded in his backyard creek, in Bellingham, Washington.
Liam’s story and his journaling, combined with the storytelling of bamboo rodmaker Jimmy Watts, the writing of David James Duncan and Chris Dombrowski, and the musical interpretation of Jason McGerr, provide a backbone for the structure of a feature film. The film will also include conversations with friends and family who fished with and knew Liam. Our intention is for the film to flow and unfold like his river and tower like the old growth trees his story inhabits.