SOU alum returns to screen Klamath River film

The SOU Alumni Association and multiple campus partners will present a screening of the award-winning documentary “A River Between Us,” about the Klamath River, that was written and produced by 1992 SOU graduate Jason Atkinson. He will return to campus for the free event at 1 p.m., Friday, April 11, in the Art Building’s Meese Auditorium and will entertain questions after the 90-minute film.

Atkinson’s documentary debuted in 2014 and was shown at 20 film festivals, winning awards at multiple events including the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, the Real West Film Festival and the Cinema Pacific Film Festival.

“We set out to show the human side of the problems in the basin by not taking sides,” Atkinson said. “I believe we accomplished that. The film was used in key states on the East Coast to help provide political cover for President Barack Obama to sign off on during the last six months of his presidency.”

His concept for the film – which began on a cocktail napkin in 2004 – came to fruition and helped influence and educate a presidential administration about the forgotten human side of the water wars. “I followed my heart and did what I believed to be right on this issue. I believe it was all worth it. And now the (Klamath River) dams are out, in 2024, and we will be able to begin the healing and recovery process.”

Atkinson grew up in Sacramento until his family moved to Ashland when he was 13. He graduated from Ashland High School, and chose what was then Southern Oregon State College to earn bachelor’s degrees in both history and political science. He spent time pursuing competitive bicycle racing in Europe and as a ski school instructor at Mt. Bachelor before entering graduate school at Willamette University in Salem, where he earned master’s degrees in business administration and public administration.

He began a consulting business and ran successfully for positions in the Oregon House of Representatives and then the State Senate, serving a total of 14 years. Atkinson began working on Klamath River restoration during the Bill Clinton presidential administration and continued into the George W. Bush administration. He took a break from public service to make a documentary about the complex water war over the river, which involved two states and five tribal nations.