Florida Defenders of the Environment began production on the documentary, “Ocklawaha: Tales My Father Told,” in January 2023. It is inspired by the symphonic poem of the same name composed by John Gottsch. South Florida Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestra Sebrina Alfonso, premiered the work by Gottsh at Miami Beach’s state-of-the-art concert hall, New World Center. When I learned that the premiere would be at New World Center, where concerts can be professionally recorded by the Center’s 15 Hi-Def cameras and video team, generous donors quickly responded with the funds needed to help make the film.

I learned that the symphonic poem was inspired by Gottsch’s youthful travels on the Ocklawaha with his father, who shared campfire tales with his son recalling the rich natural and human history of this storied waterway. Following long exchanges with the composer, I realized that the tales Gottsch’s father told captured the wonders of the Ocklawaha from the perspective of a young boy who first knew the river when it truly ran free, before the boondoggle Cross Florida Barge Canal had carved two ditches into interior Florida and FDE founder Marjorie Harris Carr and her army of volunteers successfully fought for the Canal’s deauthorization in 1990. Two remnant dams impede the natural flow of the river to this day. Young John revisited the river when in high school, and the sight of the dam and the tales his father had told of the troubled history of Indians and enslaved blacks who had lived and died along its bank, haunted Gottsch into his upward years and inspired the creation of this landmark work.

As writer/producer, I translated the composer’s notes for the “vignettes” that weave his father’s tales into the score where the musical instrumentation—stirring strings, blaring trumpets, booming tympani—will be visually matched by the award-winning wildlife cinematography of Ocala-based director of photography, Mark Emery. Editing the musical, visual and narrative elements is Dan Bramm, who I worked with on the Emmy Award-winning Expedition Florida series we produced for the Florida Museum of Natural History.

I wanted to make a film I would have liked to see if I was a young kid who may have never spent time on the Ocklawaha or learned the rich history of those who lived, fished and hoped to live freely on this pristine jewel of a waterway. Composer John Gottsch shared that he hopes “music will bring young viewers closer to nature, and nature will bring them closer to music.” I look forward to working with John and FDE to develop a STEAM curriculum that will marry science and art to inspire a new generation of Ocklawaha stewards.

The documentary is funded in part by the Marion Cultural Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Felburn Foundation, Duke Energy and FDE members and supporters. The film is also funded by the generous contribution of our members.