Here is an excerpt from the film presented at the New York International Independent Film and Video Fest and Rutgers International Film Fest.

This is a present day portrait of Northern Commercial Fishermen. It is edited as a festival short and trailer to an hour long feature. The film includes the work of Composer / Guitarist Bill Frisell, set to black and white film shot at sea and in snow covered Dutch Harbor, "hub" of the Bering Sea fishing industry.

The filmmaker's narration offers brief reflection and insight as Fishermen's stories take the viewer into the struggles and passions of their work. It explores the wild outpost of Dutch Harbor and reveals cryptic radio talk on the fishing grounds while "pots" come "over the rail" as they search the sea for crab.

Fishermen like Ron Briggs talk about the origins of a family "work ethic" and the struggle to preserve a rural way of life; Ken Wilkinson, long time deckhand tells about the mentality of the crab fleet and the "Old School" Norwegians who once defined the fishery; Mark Klinkenberg conjures the way crews work together through extreme rigors and endless days and nights on the ocean. In their own way they each describe what the work is about and the character it takes to endure.

This is a rare glimpse through the eye of an insider into Alaska's toughest way of life.

Shot on color DV and Super 8mm black and white, run time is 18:35.

Credits

Stefani Smith ©2001