The Hard Way

This is a bit like a Christmas present we’ve found for you! A superb film, but above all a film that shows the ability to rebuild oneself, to choose what is good for us, to have a second chance. You’ll follow Matt Mendes’ passion and the Deschutes River gave him strentgh to shape another life. Happy Holidays to all!

The Hard Way is a story about patience, craft, heritage, and the quiet lessons a river teaches—told through the life of Warm Springs guide and tribal member Matt Mendes. Directed by award-winning filmmaker RA Beattie, filmed by Beattie and Arian Stevens, written by Miles Nolte, and produced by Tim Harden, RA Beattie, and Miles Nolte, this film invites viewers to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with the deeper meaning of the outdoors.

Set along Oregon’s Deschutes River, the film moves through all four seasons as Mendes shares the challenges, humor, and hard-earned wisdom that come from a lifetime on the water. From his grandfather—recognized as the first Native American guide on the river—to the shifting pressures of modern guiding life, Mendes’s story is one of resilience, responsibility, and gratitude.

The film opens with a powerful introduction from Chief Jefferson Greene, spoken in the Warm Springs language of Ichishkiin, grounding the narrative in the cultural and ancestral history of this landscape.