International Premiere
This deep dive into the contentious history of fishing management in Washington State proves richly rewarding. It’s a compelling film that opens up important conversations around Indigenous treaty rights, the extent and limitations of federal and state jurisdiction, colonial racism and hypocrisy, activism, cooperation, and conservation, to name just a few.
The film finds its centre in the Boldt decision of 1974, a pivotal legal hearing in which a Nixon-appointed judge decreed that treaty rights granted local Native American bands — including the Makah, Quinault, Skokomish, and the Nisqually — 50% of the catch, up from the 2% they had been permitted previously. The ruling was transformative economically, but also politically, and Washington State spent the next decade attempting to have it overturned.
Fish War is buoyed by an abundance of colourful archival footage and lively interviews with many of the leading figures in the fight, and cleverly threads the difficult needle of the ongoing crisis confronting all of us who care about the salmon: the bands were catching more fish at 2% of the yield in 1970 than at today’s 50% allocation.
Media Partner
Community Partner
Willie Frank III, Russell Hepfer, Ramona Bennett, Lisa Wilson
USA
2024
English
Coarse language
Open to youth at SFU Woodwards
At Fifth Avenue
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Ed Johnstone, Justin Parker
Producer
Kari Neumeyer, Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, Tiffany Royal
Cinematography
Charles Atkinson
Editor
Skylar Wagner
Original Music
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Jeff Ostenson
After being a mental health therapist and working with his family’s fruit packing and shipping business, Jeff Ostenson found his way to filmmaking in 2006. Since then, he has primarily focused on the project management and business end of making films, ensuring that every project delivers on time, on budget, and in a way that the client and production team enjoy, and that the created media exceeds the project goals. Over his 17+ year career in film, he has continually engaged deeper in story development and driven each member of North Forty’s creative team further to hone their craft. To date, he has directed and produced hundreds of short films, most about forest health or salmon restoration, including 11 short films in partnership with Northwest Treaty Tribes Media.
Charles Atkinson
Charles Atkinson is a filmmaker out of the Pacific Northwest. He studied filmmaking at Biola University, and after 6 years in Los Angeles, he couldn’t resist the call home – back to the snow and the heat of central Washington. Atkinson’s favourite thing to do is connect audiences with new ideas using filmmaking. He spends most of his time focused on the visual language of projects and believes that every film he works on can deliver a powerful visual story. Atkinson has shot hundreds of short films and several feature-length documentaries in his 13-year career.
Skylar Wagner
After graduating in 2010 with a cinema and media arts degree from Biola University, Skylar Wagner entered a 12-year career as a reality TV editor. He worked on a wide variety of dance competition, travel, nature, and docu-drama shows for national cable broadcast and was the lead and finishing editor on many of those. During that time, Wagner collaborated with North Forty Productions on many projects, including a regional Emmy-nominated doc short and a feature-length documentary. In the past year, he took a VP of Post position with North Forty and serves as lead editor on all of their projects.
Insights
See more films in this series
Blink
When their kids start going blind, Edith and Sébastien Pelletier take their family on a globe-trotting adventure to see the world before they lose their sight. An inspirational journey of reflection, self-discovery, and heartwarming family connection.
Balomania
In the labyrinthine underworld of São Paulo, Sissell Morell Dargis spent a decade documenting the story of illegal baloeiros, hot air balloonists, and guerilla artists, who risk their lives crafting and releasing huge, lavishly decorated paper balloons.
Living With Wolves
This fascinating and beautiful doc explores wolf life in the lower Alps, as well as the contentious politics surrounding the animals. As an exploration of ecology, it’s illuminating; as a gander at the great outdoors, it’s delightful.
Unlikely Allies
What does it take to unite right-wing billionaire Charles Koch with hip hop legend Snoop Dogg? This urgent and uplifting film documents an extraordinary response to an appalling injustice: a young man sentenced to 55 years for three marijuana sales.
The Chef & the Daruma
The inventor of the California Roll, chef Hidekazu Tojo helped bring sushi to mainstream popularity through his renowned Vancouver restaurant, Tojo's. The Chef & the Daruma is a mouthwatering film touching on immigration, identity, and reinvention.
Democracy Noir
As Viktor Orbán dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women--a journalist, a politician, and a nurse--work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul. A chilling exposé of far-right nationalism and an inspirational beacon of resistance.
At Averroes & Rosa Parks
Averroès and Rosa Parks are psychiatric units in Paris supporting patients with mental illness. A powerful, thought-provoking follow-up to 2023 Golden Bear winner On the Adamant by veteran documentarian Nicolas Philibert.
Fish War
This deep dive into the contentious history of fishing rights in Washington State proves richly rewarding. It's a genuinely compelling film about the transformative Boldt decree of 1974, which granted PNW bands equal status in fish management.
Curl Power
This uplifting documentary follows a curling team from Maple Ridge as they navigate the uncertainties of their teenage years and strive to become Canadian Junior Curling Champions with coaching from three of their moms, who are former Olympians.
Searching for Amani
Years after his father's murder while working in Kenya’s largest private wildlife sanctuary, 13-year-old Simon Ali searches for the killers. An unflinching chronicle of postcolonial upheaval and one family’s choice to search for peace.
The Thinking Game
Through in-depth interviews, cutting-edge technological demonstrations, and the unrelenting ambition of Demis Hassabis, The Thinking Game follows innovative AI research company, DeepMind, as it works towards AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).
Ninan Auassat: We, the Children
Shot over six years, this groundbreaking documentary brings us the moving stories of three groups of youth from three different Indigenous nations. With no adult voices included in the film, we meet a new generation with a burning desire to be heard.