People who appear in "Crossroads of the Columbia" celebrated at its premiere in January, 2009. From left to right are Don West, Donna Wright, George Exum, Dirk Rohne, Olivia Schmidt, Brent Foster, Cheryl Johnson and Brett VandenHeuvel. Submitted photo

Move over, Goonies – the Pacific Northwest has a new star. Actually it’s an ancient new star – the Columbia River. The river stars in “Roll On, Columbia,” a free public program of inspiring short documentaries being shown at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the Columbian Theater, 1102 Marine Drive. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m.

Three of the films were written and produced in Clatsop County and feature many familiar faces, including local fishermen, business people, students and others. The films are “Work Is Our Joy,” “Crossroads on the Columbia … Oregon Confronts America’s Energy Future,” “In Their Footsteps” and “Pipe Dream.”

“We’re delighted to present these remarkable and moving stories about the people, places and traditions that make the Columbia River worth protecting,” said Laurie Caplan, one of the event’s organizers. “Roll On, Columbia” is sponsored by Columbia Pacific Common Sense, a local grassroots group working to stop the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and pipelines at Bradwood and Warrenton.

“Work Is Our Joy” is a 30-minute history of drift gillnetting on the Columbia River. Numerous interviews with local fisherman create a personal history of generations of fishermen, the canneries and the river. The documentary is a tale of courage and tradition, told through great stories, compelling images and personal reminiscences.

The film features well-known fishermen from the area, including Bill Gunderson, Eldon Korpela, Ross Lindstrom, Andrew Marincovich, Jack Marincovich, Cecil Moberg and Bill Puustinen. The documentary was written by Irene Martin, who has been writing about the Columbia River fishery for more than three decades. Jim Bergeron was the project director. The film was made in 1989 as a project of Oregon State University Extension Sea Grant and the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Martin will be a guest at the event, as will Jack Marincovich.

“Crossroads on the Columbia … Oregon Confronts America’s Energy Future” is a 20-minute documentary featuring bird’s-eye views of the Columbia River, including Bradwood and the Skipanon Peninsula. The film chronicles grassroots determination to save the Columbia River and its estuary from the controversial LNG projects. Area residents shown in “Crossroads” include Albert Smith, Dirk Rohne, Cheryl Johnson, Don West, Donna Quinn, Dave Densmore and George Exum of Puget Island, Wash.

Following its official premiere a year ago, “Crossroads” was selected as the Best Environmental Short Documentary Film in the Santa Cruz Film Festival and toured the United States as part of the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Film Festival throughout 2009. It has been shown at other regional and national film festivals.

“In Their Footsteps” opens with dramatic shots of the Columbia River and provides a fast-paced history of the riches of the estuary and its people. It includes scenes of horse seining, Fort Clatsop, the 1922 Astoria fire, the canneries and more. The film has been shown at the Columbia River Maritime Museum and at local elementary schools, but according to producer Scott Holmstedt, this is probably its first theater screening.

Students at Astoria High School wrote and produced this 20-minute film in 1999. At that time, Holmsted was a teacher and technical staff person with the Astoria School District. The student filmmakers were Amor Estandian, Faith Harris, Chris Holmstedt, Ryan Holmstedt, Sasha Rappaport, Jenny Stanton, Kirk Wintermute and Willis Van Dusen Jr.

“The project was not only a great technology lesson for our students but also a chance for them to experience local history in a new and unique way,” said Holmstedt. “They all walked away with a new appreciation for the area and learned more than if they had read the history in a textbook.” “In Their Footsteps” was made in cooperation with the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Clatsop County Historical Society.

“Pipe Dream” focuses on the pipelines proposed to go from the proposed LNG terminals through Oregon to connect to existing pipelines to California. The eight-minute film includes interviews with LNG advocates and with farmers, ranchers, vintners and others who oppose the terminals and pipelines.

In addition to the other guests will be Quinn, who wrote and produced “Crossroads” with Eugene filmmaker Spence Palermo, and Olivia Schmidt of Columbia Riverkeeper. A scale model of the proposed Oregon LNG terminal will be displayed at the theater that afternoon. For more information about the event, contact Caplan at (503) 338-6508.