School of Fish
2023 · 19m · USA
Directed by Colin Arisman, Oliver Sutro
Genres: documentary
Tones: provocative, tender
A participatory documentary portrait of Triston Chaney, a 24-year-old Yup'ik fishing guide in Dillingham, Alaska, following his family's seasonal salmon rituals and their fight to protect Bristol Bay's legendary salmon run from the proposed Pebble Mine gold and copper project.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Yup'ik fishing guide fighting the Pebble Mine — earnest Indigenous-led conservation doc with an actual cease-and-desist receipt from the villain. The political stakes are real.
Arisman and Sutro use participatory filmmaking with Yup'ik subjects co-shaping the edit, then receive a cease-and-desist from the mining CEO during post — the production process itself is part of the story. Real stakes, real method.
Nineteen minutes using a participatory methodology where Indigenous subjects co-shaped the narrative during production and post — and the filmmakers received a cease-and-desist from the Pebble Mine CEO during editing. That production history is itself the craft achievement; Orvis production at 91K views.
Reviews
A David and Goliath style story which sees the residents of the Bristol Bay area in Alaska fighting to preserve their local fishing industry — vital to their income and cultural heritage — from the pollutions of a massive mining operation nearby. Never feels repetitive and remains consistently engaging.
Festivals
- Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival 2023, Best Short Film
- DOC NYC 2023
- Telluride MountainFilm 2023
- HollyShorts Film Festival 2023
- Kendal Mountain Film Festival 2023
- 5 Point Adventure Film Festival 2024, People's Choice Award
- Topanga Film Festival, Best Environmental Short