Land of Little Rivers

Cries from the Deep

1981

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.

HAND. LINE. COD.

2016

In the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland's rugged Fogo Island, "people of the fish"—traditional fishers—catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that's making a comeback.

Against the Tide

2023

Two friends, both Indigenous fishermen, are driven to desperation by a dying sea. Their friendship begins to fracture as they take very different paths to provide for their struggling families.

The Outdoorsman

1968

A group of outdoorsmen demonstrate duck hunting as a preliminary to traveling the various hunting and fishing centers of the world. They begin their journey with a trip to the Rocky Mountains to hunt elk and mountain lions and to fish in the freshwater lakes. They travel to Lac la Ronge in Saskatchewan and to Anchorage and the Katmai Peninsula in Alaska to fish for trout, salmon, and grayling and hunt moose and bear. In the Arctic, the hunters go with a group of Eskimos for their biggest catch, the polar bear. The hunters travel south by plane, to the Fishing Club of Panama to fish for marlin, tuna, shark, and dolphin in the Gulf of Panama. In South Africa and the Zambesi River basin, they often hunt with only a camera. Accompanied by native beaters, they hunt elephants, antelope, buffalo, crocodiles, and hippopotami. As conservationists they capture some almost extinct white rhinoceros and take them to a game preserve for protection.

The Pearl Fishers

1960

Documentary about Japanese pearl fishers.

To the Sea

2010

Before leaving for Rome with his mother, five year old Natan is taken by his father, Jorge, on an epic journey to the pristine Chinchorro reef off the coast of Mexico. As they fish, swim, and sail the turquoise waters of the open sea, Natan discovers the beauty of his Mayan heritage and learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface, as the bond between father and son grows stronger before their inevitable farewell.

Rails to the Catskills

2014

RAILS TO THE CATSKILLS is a history of the dynamic railroad industry in the Catskills of New York State. Catskill railroads have roots in the canals of the 1820's and the post Civil War railroad boom.

Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt

1986

At its peak, one million New York Jews spent their summers in the Borscht Belt, the birthplace of Jewish-American iconoclastic humor. This film shows how these Catskills communities were run by women, and how class divisions were reflected in the resort hotels: upwardly-mobile hotel guests were entertained by a who's-who of talent, while in the bungalows, do-it-yourself burlesque and vaudeville reigned among the blue-collar families. This film is happy, humane, ironic, and, finally, bittersweet, as we see that today's Jews no longer share the tastes or aspirations of their parents.

Atlantic

2016

Documentary about the two big resources in the North Atlantic, fish and oil, and the impact of their exploitation on the environment in various countries on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tarpon

1973

The first of the modern fishing films, shot in the wild panorama of 1970s Key West. Colorful scenes of Key West from another era - with treasure hunters, smugglers, hippies and eccentrics - are background to stunning cinematography and tarpon fishing at its finest. Authors, Richard Brautigan, Tom McGuane and Jim Harrison join with legendary flats guides, Woody Sexton, Gil Drake and Steve Huff.

Fullsterkur

2018

FULLSTERKUR is the third documentary in a collection of films produced by Rogue Fitness, exploring strength culture around the world, connected specifically by the ancient tradition of stone lifting. Nestled at the doorstep of the Arctic Circle, the country of Iceland is uniquely acquainted with the relationship between strength and survival. For hundreds of years, men and women were challenged to overcome harsh weather and endless winter nights by developing their own distinct physical and mental fortitude—passed down from the age of the Vikings, and iconically represented by the lifting of heavy stones. Today, on an island with a population of just over 300,000, a disproportionate number of the world’s greatest strength athletes still call Iceland home.

Una corriente salvaje

2018

Chilo and Omar seem to be the only two men on earth. They live on a solitary beach and their constant activity is fishing to survive. Their friendship, surrounded by sensuality, becomes a kind of a love story. Through their conversations and their relationship, the film explores and portraits human condition.

The Shiranui Sea

1975

The sea around Minamata was heavily polluted with mercury during the 1950s and 1960s from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory. This highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish and fish in the Yatsushiro Sea which, when eaten by the local populace, gave rise to Minamata disease. The disease was responsible for the deaths and disabling of thousands of residents, all around the Yatsushiro Sea. The marine ecosystem was also extensively damaged.

Leviathan

2012

An experimental portrait of the North American commercial fishing industry through the lens of GoPro cameras placed on a fishing vessel off the coast of New England.

13 Faces du Valais

2019