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When Elisha McArthur agreed to let filmmaker Sarah Hamilton make a short film about her life, she had no idea how far her story would reach. The next thing she knew, River Mamma was winning Best Short at the 5Point Film Festival, being declared a Finalist at the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and being screened at various other film festivals across the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, River Mamma won Best Rafting Film at the 2026 Paddling Film Festival.
Elisha notes that at the film’s world premiere at the 5Point Film Festival, she was brought onstage to answer some pretty personal questions about an already personal film.
“I was like, oh boy, what did I get myself into?” laughs Elisha. “But I’m still glad I put myself out there. Because I believe stories are important and representation matters.”
Elisha is a lifelong whitewater enthusiast, raft guide and instructor. The film explores her relationship with her teenage daughter, Charlotte, who despite growing up on the river, no longer feels passionately about paddling.
The film’s name refers to a nickname Elisha was given just after Charlotte was born. She says that as a single mom with a baby who was less than a year old, she felt pressured to get a “real job.”
“But I had this realization that if I was going to be the best mom I could be, I had to be the best me I could be,” she continues. “Which meant doing what I love and being a raft guide.”
So she returned to the river with Charlotte, prompting the guides she worked with that summer to nickname her “River Mamma.” It’s stuck ever since.
At the time, she couldn’t find any stories of other single moms who were also raft guides.
That’s why she agreed to let Sarah tell her story. Since the film’s release, she’s had many reach out letting her know her story has inspired them to follow their passions amid becoming new parents. Most recently, she had a student who was a new dad and had been raft guiding for a long time tell her her story helped him decide to continue to pursue his career after he had been thinking of walking away from the river.
“It was important to me to hear that the film is having an impact,” says Elisha. “And having a different kind of impact than I imagined.”
When it comes to the tension many parents might feel between chasing their passions and parenting, Elisha says parents need to be true to themselves.
“I see so many people have kids and put their passions on the back burner,” she continues. “That’s not healthy for anybody. It’s not good modelling for your kid, it’s not good modelling for you. If you can continue to be true to yourself then that models for your kid for them to be true to themselves.”
She says this still hasn’t been easy to navigate as Charlotte has gotten older—she’s now 18— particularly because Elisha’s career has expanded. In 2017, Elisha started Canyon River Instruction, specializing in teaching rafting and swiftwater rescue. She is also the president of the nonprofit organization Worldwide Women of Whitewater (WWoW), which supports women in the whitewater industry globally. These pursuits and others have her teaching whitewater paddling full-time, year-round in places around the world.
“I feel a lot of parent-guilt that I am investing in my career and am not around as much while Charlotte’s in her teenage years,” says Elisha. “But I also know she’s proud of me and what I’m doing in the world. So you have to weigh that. I just have to be intentional about taking time to be with her when I am here and we both have time.”
Although the pair don’t spend much time on the river together anymore, it does happen now and then. At the time of this interview, Elisha says she, along with Charlotte’s girlfriend and best friend, were able to get Charlotte out on the river for the first time in a long while.
“I have a Grand Canyon trip coming up for August 2027 and Charlotte was officially invited by the permit holder,” says Elisha of other opportunities she may have to paddle with Charlotte. “She gave a solid maybe. So, maybe.”
Elisha says Charlotte prefers the multiday trips and has a special love for the Grand Canyon, so she wouldn’t be surprised if Charlotte does decide to join.
The film discusses the fine line parents have to walk between pushing their kids to do something they know will be good for them, and letting them just be who they are. Elisha explains, “Only push when you know they’re going to have fun. Or when you know the outcome is going to be positive. Like, don’t push when you know they are going to be wet, cold, miserable and have a bad time. Pushing kids into type II fun isn’t productive.”
If you’ve identified an opportunity to push, she says it can help to be sneaky about it.
“I’ve gotten pretty good at finding the gentle ways to push so that she does actually do the thing and get the experience and have the good time,” says Elisha. For example, convincing Charlotte’s girlfriend and best friend to go boating so Charlotte would be more inclined to say yes, too.
Ultimately, though, you need to know your kid and whether pushing them will be helpful or not.
“Charlotte is one of those kids who needs a little push from time to time,” she says.
These days, Charlotte is pursuing her passion for art, is a ski instructor at the local hill in the winter, and works part-time jobs at an art collective and bookstore. She also recently approached Elisha about learning some guitar. In addition to being a whitewater instructor, Elisha is a musician and taught Charlotte some fiddle and piano when she was young.
“I was like, I think that’s really cool that you’re getting back into music. And she says, ‘Yeah… give me a couple more years and I might get back into boating,’” Elisha laughs. “I was like, hey you do you, kid. If it’s never your jam, it never has to be your jam. But she does have fun when she’s out there.”
For Charlotte’s 18th birthday in March the pair spent a week together in Iceland. Charlotte wanted to get a tattoo there from a very specific artist, so Elisha joined her for the trip.
“That was really lovely and special,” says Elisha. “And the fact that she wanted to spend her 18th birthday with her mom tells me I’m doing something right.”
You can watch River Mamma in person at a Paddling Film Festival World Tour event or watch at home with a subscription to Paddling Magazine TV.
River Mamma is a tribute to motherhood, honoring the strength it takes to nurture others while staying true to your own passions. | Feature photo: Sarah Hamilton
