(via) This is the trailer for an upcoming documentary by artists Wes Modes and Lauren Kincaid-Filbey who spent four years and many thousand of miles (on and off rivers) to make a film that looks at the marginalized people who reside on the flowing waters of the Upper Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. A Secret History of the American River People looks like it will be a uniquely fascinating thing to watch when it comes out. As to when exactly that will be is up in the air, as the team is now floating New York’s Hudson River and conducting even more interviews.

Modes gathers personal stories from people living near the river, stories of people living under bridges, fishermen, scientists, bar owners, river rats, artists, boaters, adventurers, and people who’ve lived within sight of the river every day of their lives. Modes seeks out people whose stories are not typically part of the historical record. …In 2014, he launched his untested shantyboat for the first time on the raging Mississippi River only a few weeks after a major flood. Now, Modes, his crew, and dog Hazel have traveled over 1250 river miles, 20,000 miles by land, been featured in numerous articles and exhibitions, conducted over 100 interviews in 10 states and talked to thousands of people about the river…