Back in January, I posted a short film, “Year of the River,” which talks about the removal of dams in Washington State that started in 2011.  This has been a huge step in ecological recovery in the state and has created all sorts of research into 1) the effects of dam removal and 2) how long it will take nature to recover from human impact.  Researchers at the University of Washington, National Geographic, and National Park Service Blog, to name a few, are all participating in the collection of data.

Enough of the ‘lecture,’ my point of mentioning this video was more to do with another point that I made in the same post- I promised to talk more about a film project that I worked on concerning a very similar topic.

Salmon.

Picture from National Geographic

Yes, those large fish that you can see fly between fish vendors’ arms at Pike Place Market in Seattle and more than likely have eaten while in coastal towns in the US, UK, Scandinavia etc.  Salmon is a huge part of the culture in the Pacific Northwest, even if we take it for granted.  Salmon live in our rivers and adorn our cities in ornate sculptures and artwork.  It’s so important to us that when I was five, my Kindergarten class spent a month learning about Salmon.

And now, years later, I have been fortunate enough to get to work on a film about Salmon.  Specifically about the return of natural salmon runs to the Elwah River on the Olympic Peninsula thanks to dam removal efforts.  It all started with me getting an internship at with Director Mark Titus at August Island Pictures, and from there I started assisting with “The Breach“.  There was a brief interlude when I went back to school to get my Masters, but I’m very happy to report that I’m back on the project.

It’s not a flashy position- I’m tracking down archival footage and negotiating usage rights, but it’s a way to contribute to a project that I love and to be perfectly honest, I’m just happy to be working on a project with other people.

So today I want to share a very brief taste of one of the projects I have a hand in “The Breach“:

Dir. Mark Titus

More updates in the months to come.  The post-production team is in full force and hopes to share this with the world soon.