ONLY THE RIVER KNOWS – trailer from Kokkaffe Media on Vimeo.
In the surfing film, Step Into Liquid, a surfer commented that there is essentially no point in explaining surfing to someone that hasn’t shared the experience. The profound thoughts and feels cannot be put into words, and when a surfer tries to explain it, they sound ridiculous.
Perhaps the same can be said for fly anglers. It’s an experience that cannot be but into words. Attempting to do so is Lars Lenth, who documents his fly fishing ventures in New Zealand over a period of three months. And for us anglers in-the-know, we can understand his language, explanations, experiences, and feelings. Twenty-Five years post-adventure, a new film from Kokaffee Media brings these experiences to life in the film, Only the River Knows.
The filmmakers state the following:
“The main part of the film takes place by the legendary Lethe River on New Zealand’s wild and wondrous South Island. Back in 1988, one of the most iconic fly fishers of our time, Lars Lenth, spent three months exploring the fabled river and fishing for its abnormally large trout. At night, he would sit down in a remote cabin and write down his experiences in a journal.
Nearly 25 years later, the young trout bum Rolf Nylinder looses his way in the wilderness near Lethe. By chance, he finds the long-lost journal, full of insights about the very soul of fly fishing. Along with Rolf on the trip is documentarist Peter Christensen, filming their mostly failing attempts to catch trout, and Rolf’s ever-growing obsession of the journal.”
As the subtitle for the film (“a fly fishing tragedy”) suggests, there is a rich tale shared in the film through these journals and stories as well.
To check out Only the River Knows, please click here.