Watermen

As Long as the Rivers Run

1971

Examines the violence and civil disobedience leading up to the hallmark decision in U.S. v. Washington, with particular reference to the Nisqually Indians of Frank's Landing in Washington.

Jacob's First Mandolin

2022 · ★ 7

A friendly wager on a family fishing trip to Emerald Isle years ago resulted in one boy’s dream come true. That boy, all grown up, turned his dream come true into a career.

There's No Fish in Lake Michigan

There's No Fish in Lake Michigan is a short documentary exploring salmon's surprising presence in Chicago and the communities, industries, ecology, and history surrounding it. Made by Allegra Hatem, Macallister Rescorl, and Joshua Silver.

Cries from the Deep

1981 · ★ 10

This documentary records the journey undertaken by Jacques Cousteau, his 24-member team, and an NFB film crew to explore the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, one of the world's richest fishing areas. They discover shipwrecks, film icebergs and observe beluga whales, humpback whales and harp seals. The film also includes a fascinating sequence showing Calypso divers freeing a calf whale entrapped in a fishing net.

Violated Paradise

1963 · ★ 7.3

A modern geisha travels through Japan trying to find a job as entertainer, and ends up by finding love and a job as ama, a pearl diver.

Min klasse i Grønland

Experience a year in a classroom in Ilulissat, where kids have each others' backs, participate in exciting activities and navigate friendships and challenges in their daily lives.

Contra a Maré

2023

Every day, fishermen venture out into the polluted waters of Sepetiba Bay to provide for their families, searching for what remains of the region's marine life.

Return of the Islander

1970 · ★ 5.3

Through economic necessity, an Aran Islander is forced to travel to England to work on building sites so that he can earn money to support his family back on the Islands.

Polaris

2012

Work. Eat. Sleep. And back to work. For a long time skippers in the North East of Scotland could not find locals to work on their fishing vessels. That was until Filipino fishermen started coming to town for work. Both nationalities strive to shorten the distance between two very different worlds.

Threatened: The Controversial Struggle of the Southern Sea Otter

2013

Sea otters are once again in peril after being brought back from the brink of extinction. An unprecedented number of sea otter deaths have occurred along the California coast in the last three years. Meanwhile, the Fish & Wildlife Services decision to eliminate their No Otter Zone from Southern California waters remains controversial. This fragile species threatened by pollution, infectious diseases, starvation, and competition with fishermen struggles for survival.

No Otter Zone

2012

The Southern Sea Otter was historically abundant along the California coastline until intense hunting pressures reduced their numbers to near-extinction levels. But now the otters are coming back, and with them they bring the potential for drastic change to the modern-day economics and ecology of the Santa Barbara Channel.

Nanook of the North

1922 · ★ 7.1

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.