Our 2013 festival featured new releases (Salmon Nations! Salmon spawning! Salmon dancing! People getting dirty and restoring streams!) alongside favorites from our previous festivals.

(*) VIRTUAL FILM FEST: Films with an asterisk can be streamed online in their entirety.

*4 Minutes of Red Salmon (4”) for everyone needing a visual salmon fix: gorgeous above-water footage of the Adams River 2010 salmon run. Follow this link…

Alexandra’s echo (47”): a personalized story of how a Canadian scientist uncovers a deadly threat to migrating salmon from aquaculture salmon farms established in otherwise pristine waters where she lives. Follow this link…

*Butch Phillips: Restoring the Penobscot River (3”) an interview with a tribal elder of the Penobscot Indian Nation describing his peoples’ relationship with salmon and the collaboration underlying the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. Follow this link…

*Chinook Salmon in California (10”) – a biological and ecological introduction to the life cycle of Chinook salmon, with terrific underwater footage. Narrated by DFG staff. Follow this Link…

Dancing Salmon Home (66”) a documentary about the ongoing struggle of the Winnemen Wintu, a tribe displaced from their ancestral lands with the building of the Shasta Dam, and their journey to bring native chinook salmon back to McCloud River. Follow this link…

Enough is Enough (14”) passage for the salmon and steelhead along the McCloud River was eliminated by the Shasta Dam; with the proposed raising of the dam, the safety, beauty, and sacred sites of the McCloud River are threatened once again. Follow this link…

*Facing Climate Change: Plateau Tribes (4”28’) the Umatilla Tribe in northeastern Oregon promised to take care of the foods that promised to take care of them: water, fish, game, roots, and berries. Can they keep that promise to the salmon in a warming world? Follow this link…

*First Salmon Ceremonies of the Pacific Northwest (6”) In the Pacific Northwest, many treaty Indian tribes hold First Salmon Ceremonies and Blessings of the Fleet to honor the salmon that sustain them, and protect the fishermen who procure it. This video shows some of the traditions practiced by the Swinomish, Lummi, Upper Skagit, Tulalip and Stillaguamish tribes. Follow this link…

*Fishy Business (4””) An animated short film by Food & Water Watch, that describes the concerns associated with industrial aquaculture and genetically engineered salmon. Follow this link…

Ghost Fish of the Wimahl (5”27’) gorgeous underwater footage of the primordial salmon and steelhead runs of the Colombia River. Follow this link…

*Hasta Las Huevas (7”) a fun – yet sobering ­­– animated film about the consequences of fish farms in Chile. Follow this link…

Ocean Acidification…in a Nutshell (1’14”) – Animated video explaining how carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, and what it means for marine ecosystems and food webs. Follow this link…

On the River with Glen Moore, Sr. (30”) An intimate, place-based film about the Klamath River and its importance to the Yurok People.

Over Troubled Waters (45”) a story of the battle being fought by the people of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the region they love and to encourage saner water policies. Follow this link…

Red Gold (54”): Bristol Bay in SE Alaska is at the confluence of the Kvichat and Nushagak rivers, two most prolific sockeye salmon runs in the world. The salmon runs are threatened by proposed open-pit mining operations at the rivers’ headwaters. Follow this link…

*Restoration of the San Joaquin River (12”30’) a KQED Quest feature on how the San Joaquin River, California’s second longest river, and how the Friant Dam parched the river in less than one generation. Follow this link…

*Restoring Little Springs Creek, Idaho (4”55’) Trout Unlimited’s Idaho Water Project is partnering with local ranchers and the Snake River Cutthroat chapter to restore an important steelhead and salmon spawning tributary on the Lemhi River – Little Springs Creek. Follow this link…

River of Renewal (60”) tells the story of conflict over the resources of California and Oregon’s Klamath Basin. The film follows Jack Kohler, a Yurok/Karuk Indian who grew up in San Francisco, on a journey of self-discovery to learn about the cultural traditions of his people and their modern-day struggles to defend tribal rights and the Klamath River. Follow this link…

*Robinson Reach – Bringing Back the Salmon (9”50’) salmon counts along the Merced River dropped from tens of thousands to less than a hundred in the 1980s. The video focuses on the Robinson Reach section of the Merced River Salmon Habitat Enhancement Project. Follow this link…

*Salmon Confidential (70”) a new film on the government cover up of what is killing BC’s wild salmon. When biologist Alexandra Morton discovers BC’s wild salmon are testing positive for dangerous European salmon viruses associated with salmon farming worldwide, a chain of events is set off by government to suppress the findings. Follow this link…

*Salmon Dinner (2”) artful stop-animation featuring a frisky salmon and his dancing vegetable partners. Follow this link…

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (112”) a dramatic comedy about a visionary sheik who believes the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his desert-based people. Follow this link…

*Salmon in the Trees (10”) The story of the Tongass rain forest, where trees grow salmon, and salmon grow trees. In association with the book Salmon in the Trees. Follow this link…

*Salmon Pink (6”24’) vintage Pink Panther cartoon where the Panther develops a special relationship with a co-dependent fish. Follow this link…

Salmon: Running the Gauntlet (50”) A detailed look at how the Columbia River Basin lost most of its salmon, and how salmon hatcheries, those very systems set up with the intention of saving salmon are contributing to the species’ devastating decline. Follow this link…

*Salmon Yeggs (6”) Kid-friendly animation from Universal Pictures telling the story of how Poppa Bear got salmon for Baby Bear. Follow this link…

*Saving Salmon One Log at a Time (3”35) a new approach by The Nature Conservancy to restoring coho salmon habitat in the Garcia River Forest of Mendocino County. Follow this link…

*‘Shake’: Salmon Eggs Hatching at the Seymour Hatchery (3’) – Chum salmon break out of their eggs and “dance” to the rockabilly music score “Shake.” An underwater macro lens captures fascinating footage of salmon alevin. Follow this link…

Smokin’ Fish (80“) – a humorous documentary highlighting the personal struggles and humor of a Tlingit man, Cory, as he journeys to his home village of Klukwan, Alaska to catch and smoke salmon using traditional nets and a hand-built smokehouse. Follow this link…

*Sockeye Salmon – underwater (4”03) a meditative underwater journey with the brilliant red and green sockeye salmon, their eggs, and the river bed. Follow this link…

*Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery from Alaska (8”) The story of Nelson Kanuk, an Alaskan Native, whose family’s salmon-centered lifeways are threatened by climate change. Follow this link…

The Gold Fish Casino (30”) A performative slide show by The Water Underground where we follow the plucky Salmon, Ms. Coho, in her struggle to get upstream to spawn. At the Gold Fish Water Casino she must gamble her eggs for river passage. She encounters a Water Nymph dealing dirty cards, an ancient Crocodile stuck playing host to the casino’s vaudeville numbers, the bumbling Army Chorus of Engineers, and an array of displaced River Creatures. 2013 http://vimeo.com/76728918

The Greatest Migration (20”): Snake River salmon swim more than 900 miles inland and climb almost 7,000 feet to reach their spawning grounds. Follow this link…

*‘The Sea’ Music Video (4’) Animated video showing the salmon life cycle plus lots of fun, outrageous imagery featuring salmon to accompany the song “The Sea” by the band Ever Since the Lake Caught Fire. Follow this link…

*The Story of the Red Salmon (2’) – A totem pole lesson of how the red salmon got his color. Follow this link…

*Through the Eyes of a Coho Smolt (3”) underwater footage following the release of coho, Chinook, and steelhead smolt into Spring Creek from the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery. Follow this link…

*Use Less Plastic (2”) Animated short video (with a great music soundtrack!) by takepart.com advocating reduced use of plastic. Follow this link…

*Upper Salmon River Basin Ranchers Improve Fish Habitat (6”) a brief look at how over 75 Idaho ranchers are changing their irrigation practices to bring the salmon back. Follow this link…

*Water Wisdom with Salmon (3”14) an interview with LaTrisha Ollom Suggs, Jamestown S’Klallam tribal member, about the extensive role salmon play in food webs, ecosystems, and tribal culture. Follow this link…

We Can’t Eat Gold (45”) living off the land, Alaska Natives defend the world’s largest salmon runs against the impact of the world’s largest gold mine, the proposed Pebble Mine. Follow this link….

Where is Our Water From? (90”) The story of Mt. Shasta’s waters, revealing the interconnections between ecology, hydrology, and spirituality. Follow this link…

*Wild Salmon in Trouble (6”) Produced by Watershed Watch – Salmon Society, this animated film shows the connections between year-round farmed salmon, the increase of sea lice in the otherwise ecologically balanced waters of British Columbia, and how this threatens wild salmon. Follow this link…

*Yukon Kings (7”) follow Yu’pik fisherman Ray Waska as he teaches his grandkids how to fish during the summer salmon run. Follow this link….

Honorable Mention – We like these films too!

*Chronology of Extirpation and Restoration of Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River (3”08’) a detailed, map-based year-by-year review from 1890-2011 of actions and activities impacting the accessible range of Chinook salmon. Follow this link…

*Klamath River Agreement: Yurok Perspective (9”39’) the historical and contemporary perspective of the Yurok Tribe on the proposed Klamath River restoration agreement, which involved the eventual dismantling of the dams on the river. Part 1 Follow this link…. & Part 2 Follow this link…

*Partnering to Restore Fall Tule Chinook in Washington’s White Salmon River (8”31’) a US Forest Service informational video about the multi-agency White Salmon Working Group to restore salmon to the river prior to the Condit Dam removal. Follow this link….

Reviving the Old Ways: Blue Creek Ah Pah Traditional Village Project – Lower Klamath River (4”) a brief look at the place for culture, language and salmon restoration, where a traditional Brush Dance House is being rebuilt by the Yurok, Karuk and Hupa. Follow this link…

*Salmon Life Cycle Song (4”) a delightful parody of the pop hit “I Will Survive” tracing the life cycle of a salmon. Follow this link…

*Salmon Life Cycle Monitoring (14”10’) coastal salmonid life cycle monitoring fish surveys in northern coastal California. Follow this link…

*The Art of Dam Removal (22”) a documentary of art-activism that set the stage to remove the 130-foot, 100-year old Condit dam on the White Salmon River. Follow this link…