Friday, June 8th – 6PM
Doors open at 6pm
Tonight’s screenings are generously presented by Maple Bay Marina
7pm – Ice Bears of the Beaufort
USA, 2008, 57 minutes
Arthur C. Smith III
www.icebearsofthebeaufort.com
Imagine that what you think you know about American polar bears is wrong. Imagine that most of what you hear about polar bears and climate change in Alaska is missing the point. Imagine a film that irrefutably documents the cognizant and social nature of polar bears, redefining the popular misconception that they are hostile and solitary. Ice Bears of the Beaufort witnesses the truth of polar bears never before filmed. To understand this truth is to understand that industrialization of Alaska’s eastern Beaufort Sea and coastal plain, where this film was shot, would jeopardize the future of US polar bears.
The coastal and near-shore region documented by Ice Bears of the Beaufort is crucial polar bear denning habitat. It’s a maternity ward. It’s a de facto American polar bear sanctuary. In the face of climate change, adding the insult of industrialization to this habitat could represent the polar bears’ unthinkable death sentence. With industrialization– on and offshore– widespread across northern Alaska and Canada,and more lease sales scheduled, these polar bears have nowhere else to go.
Created by a filmmaker living among the Inupiat Eskimos and polar bears of the Beaufort Sea, this film bears witness to the precious and unprotected home that supports a thriving– yet threatened– way of life.
Do we have the will to preserve this natural sanctuary? “Witness” Ice Bears of the Beaufort and decide for yourself.
8pm – Fish Meat
USA, 2011, 29 minutes
Joe Cunningham
www.fishnavy.com
The age of fish meat is here. Our hunger for seafood grows and grows…but the seas are running out of fish. More than half of the fish the world eats comes from fish farms. But what exactly is farmed fish? Where does it come from, and how is it made? Two friends, a fish scientist and engineer, take a sailing voyage through the cradle of western civilization to pull back the cover on modern fish farming. Along the way they discover the tragedy of Bluefin Tuna and the joy of carp.
8:45pm – Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage
USA, 2008, 56 minutes
J.J. Kelley & Josh Thomas
www.dudesonmedia.com
Follow two friends as they build their own kayaks and paddle together for 97 days through the wilderness on a journey from Alaska to Seattle—only to survive to talk about…most things.
Join adventurers Josh Thomas and J.J. Kelley as they masterfully navigate the 1,300-mile Inside Passage, travelling through waters that border North America’s largest temperate rainforest. Brown bears guard the shores. Rain pelts them for weeks without rest. They’ll even encounter deadly—not to mention dead—marine life. Enriched with interviews of colourful locals, our charming heroes’ stories are threaded together by their unconventional humour and wit. Ultimately, this is a story about friendship and how it survives the…Paddle to Seattle.
This film is generously presented by Deep Cove Kayaks