Spotlight: Uprivers generates momentum

Spotlight: Uprivers generates momentum

We are learning so much as we push forward with the making of Uprivers, a documentary about two transboundary watersheds and the communities that depend on them in the face of large-scale mining in Canada. 

It turns out that spawning salmon are a good metaphor for making a documentary film. Although salmon are consumed and distributed in their ocean-bright glory, just as films are spread to the world on the elegant silver screen, the real behind-the-scenes work is an uphill slog, a journey riddled with hungry bears, grant deadlines, toxic waste and PR meetings. By the end of this communal quest we may have felt like we were swimming in place for weeks on end, and we might be a little dark and alligator-y and worse for wear, but we will have birthed a film, ready to begin its own pilgrimage towards the metaphorical silver sea. 

photo by Ellie Schmidt

Currently, with half the filming done, and our friends and partners gathering in Alaska, it feels like we are circling in a pool of calm glacier water, gathering energy and momentum for the last few jumps upriver. The summer has much in store: 

We have launched a new fundraising campaign to finish out the film. Small donations have enabled the film to come this far: thank you! If you're wondering how you can help, this is it. Any amount helps. For more, visit our GoFundMe. 

This July we had planned to visit Ketchikan and Williams Lake to film traditional fishing techniques like beach seining and dipnetting with the native communities there. However, this summer the salmon are running early and so we are scrambling to get there in time. We have exciting plans to film inside a sein net and inside the Fraser River, but, again, we need your help! Pitch in for this important step here. 

Thanks to everyone who has supported us financially, emotionally and spiritually so far. We are excited to have our new trailer out and can feel the film becoming a reality. For first time directors Jackson and Zach this is a momentous time. For more on Uprivers, check out our website or like us on Facebook.

Update on the Kickstarter campaign for the documentary "Last Man Fishing"

‘LAST MAN FISHING’ DOCUMENTARY ASKS IF SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES CAN SURVIVE: 

A Kickstarter campaign reaching for the finish line for a powerful new project partnering with Artchange, Inc.  

INDIANAPOLIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2016) - Our world’s oceans are in trouble, and that’s a story worth telling. So much so that talented filmmaker and photographer duo JD and Kelley Jordan Schuyler committed two years of traveling coast to coast to uncover the story of our nation’s small-scale fisherman. Now, they’re starting a Kickstarter campaign to help fund remaining production of their documentary, Last Man Fishing.

With 80% of the world’s fish stocks overexploited, a collapse of our ocean’s fish stocks is becoming a serious concern. Large, industrial fisheries and unsustainable fishing practices are the current norm, leaving small-scale fisheries, who provide answers to collapsing fish stocks, fighting to survive. “When we started talking to these women and men, we realized that this is a pivotal time for our fisheries. The question of ‘who will have the right to fish in the future?’ is being decided now.” said director JD Schuyler. “Generations of fishermen in coastal America are disappearing as we speak and it’s time to ask why.”  

Centered on the personal stories of fishermen from Alaska to Maine, Last Man Fishing showcases the ways small-scale fishermen have adapted to, struggled in, and are now beginning to remake the seafood system. With gorgeous cinematography and compelling narratives, the film looks at the ways small-scale fishermen have taken on the challenge by working with consumers, chefs, policy makers, and community leaders to forge new systems that enhance the sustainability of the seafood supply chain. 

The filmmaking duo is now looking for supporters to join the movement to help secure the livelihoods for small-scale fishermen in the US. Last Man Fishing launches a 30-day Kickstarter campaign on February 8 with a goal of $35,000. With filming currently 50% complete, these funds will help to complete production as well as post-production of the project.

Help tell the Last Man Fishing story:

• Donate to Last Man Fishing Kickstarter!
• Watch the Last Man Fishing trailer
• Find Last Man Fishing on Facebook, Instagram @LastManFishing, and Twitter @LastManFishing to follow the progress and to help spread the word.

• CONTACT: KELLEY SCHUYLER  
  PHONE: 616-558-5096
  EMAIL: INFO@LASTMANFISHING.COM

•  

Uprivers, Regresando/Returning and Live Storytelling

Two new projects in the works
Plus live local storytelling

Check out our other projects in production here.

Uprivers
A documentary about the impact of the mining boom in British Columbia. An exploration of two rivers and the people and communities who live, work and harvest the salmon from the rivers. Filming begins in late January. Check back for updates. 

 

Regresando/Returning

Years ago, Ellen Frankenstein created a series of black and white documentary images in Nicaragua. Now she wants to return and see if she can find people in the photographs.

Live Storytelling
True stories. Live.  Each even has a particular theme, and storytellers perform without the help of notes or a script.
We co-hosted a live storytelling event called  "Kicking the Beehive: Stories of Stirring up Trouble and Bursting Bubbles" with the Island’s Institute in December. More events to come in 2016! Plus we will post some of the audio.

Images and Artwork by Annika Ord

Tracing Roots Screenings, Guide & Broadcast

Travels with Tracing Roots

We just got back from an amazing sceening tour with Tracing Roots. As part of the trip, Delores Churchill, a master weaver and Haida elder, visited collections and demonstrated weaving techniques. Stops included the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, the Harvard Peabody and Smithsonian's National Museum of National History.  

Delores at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History with Anthropologist Stephen Loring and Public Programmer, Naimah Muhmmad. 

Screenings are such a powerful way to interact with audiences. We talked about issues of ownership and language preservation. We touched on how art and culture connects and inspires people. Weaving and creating baskets from spuce roots is a strong example of how we connect to each other and to where we live. 

We also went to Yale University and shared the film at the Native American Cultural Center. As Delores told  staff reporter Ivona Jacob, "Weavng is such an important part of art history" Churchill said. "I feel encouraged when I speak to people like you, because I know it is important to you."  

As Ivona writes, "Churchill highlighted that the spruce root hat, which is central to the film, was discovered because of a retreating glacier, a natural phenomenon that she said occurs as a result of global warming.Even so, Churchill noted that she thinks younger generations have the ability to reverse the phenomenon’s negative effects. “Nature knows a lot more than we do and it makes you realize that global warming is really happening,” she said. “It is people like you, young people who are going to make it stop.” Read an more from the article from the Yale Daily News. 

Broadcast on Public Television

In celebration of Native American Heritage month, Tracing Roots will be broadcast on public television! So far there are 543 telecasts scheduled across the country.
On November 8th and 9th the film shows on Iowa, Idaho and Oregon Public Television, in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Missoula, Salt Lake City and elswehere!

We cut out over six minutes of the sceeening version of Tracing Roots and have worked with public TV station KTOO-TV, in Juneau to prep the film for national release. Offered through NETA and the World Channel.
 

Downloadable Guide Now Ready!

Just finished: a new study guide made to help teachers and students develop an understanding of Indigenous history, heritage and contemporary artistic tradition Discussion points, classroom activities and assignments, and additional resources are provided to assist in delving deeper into some of the issues raised in “Tracing Roots,” including: the links between heritage and the perpetuation of culture; the concepts of stewardship and caretaking; the protection of and control over artistic works as intellectual property; and the role of Elders in teaching and learning traditional cultural practices.

Tracing Roots Study Guide [PDF]

                            In the collections of the EitelJorg Museum

                      Delores works with filmmaker Ellen Frankenstein at the Smithsonian. The film is done. seems Delores wants to make sure the filmmaker can demonstate weaving as                                   well as document it. 

Thanks

We have so many people and organizations to thank for helping us travel, produce the guide and get the film out to public televison. That includes among many others who made the project possible: the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Recovering Voices and Arctic Studies Program at the Smithsonian, Indiana, Yale and Harvard Universities  the Awesome Foundation and the First People's Fund.

Ellen Frankenstein, gives a talk at Galluadet University as part of the tour.. She's projecting an image called "Kim with a Doll" from a documentary still series made in Barbados. Photo by Brian Greenwald.

                                                An awesome journey. On the train from New Haven to D.C, we talk about art and expression on whatever form it takes!