Our Films
Photo: Andreas Kind
ANOUNCING A NEW THREE-FILM SERIES
Shared Waters of the Salish Sea
Order Now for Screening
Two iconic species of the Pacific Northwest, in waters shared by Washington State and British Columbia and are now threatened with extinction: a charismatic population of Orcas known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales and the food source they almost wholly depend on: Chinook salmon.
Original Pursuit has commissioned three powerful films (15 to 25 minutes in length) to illuminate the work being done by ChangeMakers to understand and perhaps solve this tragic problem.
SHARED WATERS, SHARED CRISIS
These films can be viewed individually, OR as a series; the filmmaker is also available to provide an in-person presentation and showing.
Film #1 - Call of the Orcas
"Call of the Orcas," our first film, examines the pioneering work of American marine scientist Ken Balcomb and his Canadian colleagues Mike Bigg and John Ford to reveal the Orca as gregarious, playful marine mammals living in close-knit matrilineal pods with shared dialects. These Orcas are now starving because both the size and number of Chinook have been rapidly diminished by human activity.
Film #2 - Managed to Extinction
"Managed to Extinction," the second film, explores paths to recovery by First Nation fishers, striving to maintain the cultural traditions and sustainable practices of their ancestors, with indigenous visionary Jay Julius, and American marine Orca scientist, Dr. Deborah Giles, developing new methods of monitoring the health and diet of Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Film #3 - Shared Waters, Shared Crisis
Currently under production; expected release date late November 2024
"Shared Waters, Shared Crisis," the final film in our trilogy of the Salish Sea is exploring the trans-border scope of the Orca-Chinook problem as exemplified by the issues afflicting the Fraser River, the most productive of Canada's salmon spawning grounds. Traditional ways of fishing, habitat restoration and controversial changes in commercial harvesting may provide answers.