The Bend In The River – Watch the trailer for a documentary nearly 50 years in the making

The Bend in the River chronicles five close friends over nearly fifty years. Starting in 1978, director Robb Moss documents his friend’s outdoor rent-free life during one clothing-optional rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. In 2003, he filmed his friends again coming to terms with their transition from being young and carefree to responsible and middle-aged. Now, in 2025, Moss finds his friends in their 70s grappling with the choices they’ve made as individuals and as a generation. The film interweaves moments from the distant past with those of the recent present, taking viewers back-and-forth through time and inviting personal reflections on the inexorable flow of aging and the unfinished project of living.

Directed by Robb Moss, the documentary is executive produced by Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, Tot Long, David Lewis, Shane Boris, Jeff Reichert, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, James Costa, and Trevor Burgess.

The documentary hits Netflix on 4th December 2026.