The River Runner documentary film ad poster

Do a quick search for a “kayaking documentary” on Netflix, and the first selection that will pop up is the newest kayaking documentary that paddling fans keep talking about–The River Runner.

Here’s a quick overview of the film, with some of the most interesting plot points and filming locations, and insight into the complicated life of legendary whitewater kayaker Scott Lindgren, from the point of view of recreational flat water kayakers (their whitewater kayaking river runs absolutely terrified and thrilled us to watch).

Netflix documentary film overview - What’s The River Runner movie about?

Famed whitewater kayaker Scott Lindgren takes viewers on a 20-year journey to be the first person to run four rivers that originate from Mount Kailash in Tibet, but faces a difficult medical diagnosis that threatens him realizing his dream.

The River Runner documentary film was screened at the MountainFilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado and the BendFilm Festival in Bend, Oregon, to name a few.

Need a kayak?

Scott Lindgren, kayaker: His backstory

Scott had a rocky early childhood in Southern California. Post their parents’ divorce, he and his brother started getting into a bad scene at school and in their community (think drugs, trouble with the law, fights with classmates, you name it). But he found a new beginning and purpose when they relocated to Rocklin, near Sacramento.

In their new city, the brothers connected with a neighbor who owned a whitewater rafting guided tour company. It was a pivotal moment, as the brothers fell in love with being on the river and in the Great Outdoors.

“I’ve always believed the universe brings people together for a reason.”

— Scott Lindgren in "The River Runner"

While becoming whitewater tour guides themselves, Scott grew to be laser-focused on spending time on the river. He was eventually introduced to kayaking by someone who described “rafting as driving a bus, and kayaking as driving a sports car.”

From there, Scott was sold on the thrilling sport of whitewater kayaking, and became determined to be the first person to kayak the four rivers that run from Mount Kailash in Tibet.

“The river sang to my heart. I’d been fighting my whole life—kids, teachers, cops, parents—and here was a force so powerful that my only choice was surrender.”

— Scott Lindgren, Outside Online interview

Kayaking Mount Kailash’s four rivers in Tibet

Considered “Wonders of Tibet,” the four great rivers– Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali–stretch out in the cardinal directions of north, east, south, and west.

One of the most thrilling and edge-of-the-seat plot points in this film is Scott training for and running the Indus River. It was a culmination of a life’s work from one of the most legendary kayakers of our time.

“Surrendering to the flow of life... gave me so much freedom.”

— Scott Lindgren, professional kayaker

Before attempting to run the last river–the Indus–Scott had endured a long break from the sport and years of physical health challenges and mental health difficulties.

This expedition would be no easy feat for anyone, even someone at the top of their game.

The Indus River has 200+ rapids.
Some of them are back-to-back.
You’re locked in a gorge.
You’re always on the edge.
It’s an incredibly remote and dangerous river to run, and the pressure is extremely high.

The River Runner film cast

This documentary was directed by kayaker and filmmaker Rush Sturges. He has created eight award-winning whitewater kayaking films, and is the founder of River Roots, a media production house in White Salmon, Washington (shout to to Pacific Northwest creators).

The documentary follows the adventures of professional whitewater kayaker Scott Lindgren and his close group of friends (with some short clips of Scott’s female partner), who make up the film’s primary cast.

Scott and his kayaking group experienced a lot of trauma from the reality of the life and death profession that is the sport of whitewater kayaking.

Several friends in their inner kayaking circle died, and the documentary film digs into the hardened hearts of their group, and how they reacted to the mental and emotional toughness they had to face (such as turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms and bottling up emotions inside).

That said, the film’s cast does have a narrow view of the world. This is a white American male-dominated main character, surrounded by a like-minded ecosytem of athlete friends and filmmakers, which influences the portrayed lens of the sport of whitewater kayaking and the important spiritual, cultural, and geographical resources and landmarks they travel to. Providing more diverse points of view in this movie–such as from female professional kayakers and the locals from Tibet–would have strengthened this documentary film.

Buy a kayak

Prevalent themes in the kayaking movie The River Runner

Dealing with the pressures of a high-profile, demanding job (such as extreme sports)
Mental health challenges
Unhealthy coping mechanisms
Life & death
Knowing when to walk away and take a different path
Dealing with difficult medical diagnosis & decisions
The value of rivers
The power of supportive community
Facing fears/Conquering your demons
Surrendering to the flow of life

A film class or screenwriter could also study this documentary film The River Runner on Netflix against “The Hero’s Journey” steps, or Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat beat sheet.

The River Runner movie advertisement with kayaker

Where did they film the movie The River Runner?

No matter your take on the final film, anyone would be hard-pressed to critique the incredible landscapes, kayaking scenes, and cinematography. The visuals, filmed around the world and in Tibet, are absolutely breathtaking.

One of the wonderful aspects of this movie is that there’s some incredible old raw footage woven throughout, pulled from years and years of Scott and his friend group filming their early days kayaking adventures, back before many kayaking films even existed.

As Scott said in his article for Outside Online, “The nineties were a golden age of whitewater exploration.” (His production company even won an Emmy Award for cinematography). Long-time kayakers may feel a sense of nostalgia and admiration for the feats accomplished during the rise of whitewater kayaking.

If the incredible kayaking challenges, triumphs, and feats, stunning nature, rivers, and scenery, and impressive, dedicated elite athleticism isn’t enough to entice you to watch the movie, let us mention this mind-blowing detail:

There’s river run in this movie–and that Scott kayaks–that has CROCODILES and HIPPOS.

Where is kayaker Scott Lingren now?

Since the film’s release, people have been widely asking across the Internet, is Scott Lindgren still alive? and Share kayaker Scott' Lindgren’s death obituary, and my kayak friends, I have good news to share with you.

As of this article posting, famed whitewater kayaker Scott Lindgren is alive.

Scott Lindgren is married to his wife, Rachel Weiner.

You can follow Scott’s incredible adventures on Instagram.

Watch The River Runner online

As of this posting, viewers can stream The River Runner on Netflix (with subtitles available).

You can also rent or buy the documentary film on AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu Fandango, and Microsoft.

TL;DR Review of The River Runner documentary

The scenery and kayaking scenes in this movie are truly breathtaking. Scott faced some incredible challenges during his whitewater kayaking career, and his story is inspiring for anyone who has big dreams and difficult obstacles. All in all, there’s much to be appreciated in The River Runner movie on Netflix for kayaking fans of all kinds.

And while the whitewater rapids royally terrified us at first, it did make us curious… were we up for the challenge of taking a beginner’s introduction to whitewater kayaking class? So we did. You can read our full review of a whitewater kayaking pool class in Oregon here.

Just a heads-up, this post contains affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission. Thanks for supporting our small business.