Against the Current

Against the Current follows the struggle of a small native band in British Columbia, the Uchucklesaht on Vancouver Island, in their struggle to restore a once-healthy salmon run.

The Canneries

The Canneries is a historical exploration of the salmon canning industry along the coast of British Columbia.

Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson

Documentary on notorious activist Paul Watson. Explores the birth of the modern environmental movement and the founding of Greepeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Gulf Shrimp: 4 Years and Counting • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The beauty of a documentary series is that you can assess the impact of occurrences over a period of time. The effects of natural disasters in oceanic waters can be deadly for natural habitat and such was the case in the infamous oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The marine species of that region were devastated. 

Herring Roe: Dead or Alive, Part 1 • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The First Nations people of the west coast of British Columbia have been fishing pacific herring for centuries. Is this fishery dying out like other forms of fishery?

Herring Roe: Dead or Alive, Part 2 • SAMAQAN: Water Stories (Series 4)

The First Nations people of the west coast of British Columbia have been fishing pacific herring for centuries. Is this fishery dying out like other forms of fishery?

In the Same Boat?

Will the family farm suffer the same fate as the Atlantic fishery?

Indian Food Fishing on the Fraser River

This 2014 digital release, created by Scott Renyard, pays tribute to the 1982 film by acclaimed BC cinematographer Dick Harvey (1930-2007).

Food fishing for sockeye salmon on the Fraser River has been practiced by British Columbia's first nations communities for thousands of years. With the world changing around them, both the fish and the people remain as close as ever. 

Ireland's Eye, Newfoundland • Ghost Towns of Canada

This episode of Ghost Towns of Canada explores Ireland's Eye, Newfoundland. Once an outport along the eastern sea board of Canada, Ireland's Eye could not survive the shifts accompanied Newfoundland's entry into Confederation and was emptied during the 1960s.

Kleena

The village of Alert Bay on the coast of British Columbia is the present spiritual and cultural centre of the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) people. A small group travels to the hereditary oolichan fishing grounds to catch the fish and render it to oolichan grease (kleena). This film is about the social, historical, and economic importance of oolichan to the Kwakwaka'wakw.

Namegan's Om Dlu'wans Awinagwisex | We Are One With the Land

People from the Kwakwa'kawakw's 'NAMGIS First Nation take a canoe trip through their traditional territory on Vancouver Island. They reflect on their connection to the land-- the core of their lifeblood and culture, and on their intent to negotiate a modern-day Treaty with the government of British Columbia and the government of Canada.

The Pristine Coast [110min version]

The marine ecosystem off the coast of British Columbia is in trouble. Alexandra Morton, a biologist who lives in the Broughton Archepelago, began to document the decline of pink and chum salmon in the late 1990's following a massive expansion of open-net pen fish farming on the west coast of Canada. The Pristine Coast explores the policy decisons taken and not taken that have led to this crisis for the Pacific Coast ecosystem. 

The Pristine Coast [52min version]

The marine ecosystem off the coast of British Columbia is in trouble. Alexandra Morton, a biologist who lives in the Broughton Archepelago, began to document the decline of pink and chum salmon in the late 1990's following a massive expansion of open-net pen fish farming on the west coast of Canada. The Pristine Coast explores the policy decisons taken and not taken that have led to this crisis for the Pacific Coast ecosystem. 

Sunrise On the Total Chaos

The power of visual storytelling is front and centre in this six-minute accessible experimental film that takes the viewer out on the water to fish for lobster at sunrise. A visual ballet with nature creates a poetic piece of work in the silent version with soundscape while a separate version with intermittent commentary from the fishermen illuminates what drives these men in their commitment to such a dangerous occupation.

Trial of an Iconic Species

The mighty Fraser River sockeye run is in trouble. Beginning in the early 1990's, the sockeye salmon populations began to decline. Millions of fish were disappearing and fisheries scientists and managers were stumped.

The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton

The crash of 19 stocks of Fraser River sockeye over a 15-year period finally forced the Canadian Government to close all fishing from 2007 to 2009. It looked like Fraser river sockeye populations were going extinct. 

We Are One With the Land | 'NAMEGAN'S OM DLU'WANS AWINAGWISEX

People from the Kwakwa'kawakw's 'NAMGIS First Nation take a canoe trip through their traditional territory on Vancouver Island. They reflect on their connection to the land-- the core of their lifeblood and culture, and on their intent to negotiate a modern-day Treaty with the government of British Columbia and the government of Canada.

Who Killed Miracle?

In June 1977, a baby orca was spotted swimming erratically in Menzies Bay near Campbell River, British Columbia. It survived several brushes with death to become a star performer at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia. Five years later, the whale known as Miracle died under mysterious circumstances. This documentary revisits the circumstances surrounding her life and death and reveals a more complex story.