Between Two Rivers

Where the North meets the South in the heartland of America

Cairo is a town scarred by historic conflicts and bitter divisions. Today, it struggles to survive in the face of economic hardship, depopulation, environmental disasters and a racially segregated past. Between Two Rivers presents a dramatic and moving picture of this unique place and its people. The film sets Cairo's tumultuous past against the backdrop of the latest crisis to afflict the community: the record-breaking floods of spring 2011, when the rising Ohio & Mississippi rivers threatened to engulf the town. Filmed over a four-year period by artists Jacob Cartwright & Nick Jordan, Between Two Rivers combines vivid cinematography with historic film clips, including remarkable archive footage from Cairo: City in Turmoil, made in 1969. Unseen for over 40 years, City in Turmoil captures the town at the height of racial tensions, when Cairo witnessed the last pitched battles of the American civil-rights movement, at a defining moment in the nation's history. With insightful contributions from a former US congressman, the town's mayor, musicians, preachers, shop-keepers and townspeople, the film sensitively explores what can happen to a vulnerable community facing insurmountable difficulties. Candid in its representation of Cairo's severe economic and social failings, the film also highlights the dignity, faith and optimism of its people.