People of the Sea(2025)

Oceans of Crime(en)

Go inside a fascinating and disturbing crime story, set in one of the most lawless places on earth: our oceans, where perpetrators traffic in an illegal product, and front-line workers are modern day slaves. It's part of a multi-billion dollar outlaw industry funded by the global appetite for salmon, tuna, and other seafood, though few are aware of the human and environmental wreckage left by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Captain(en)

Of Maine’s more than 5000 commercial lobstermen only 4% are female. The Captain celebrates that fearless minority through the lens of Sadie Samuels. At 27 years old, she is the youngest and only female lobster boat captain in the Rockport, Maine harbor. Despite the long hours and manual labor of hauling traps, Samuels is in love — obsessed even — with what she calls the most beautiful, magical place on the planet. Her love for lobster fishing was imparted early in her childhood by her dad Matt, who has been her mentor and inspiration since she was a little girl in yellow fishing boots.

Anything I Catch(en)

Louisiana filmmaker, Pat Mire, teams up with veteran filmmaker and cinematographer, Charles Bush, to capture the natural drama of handfishing in this award-winning documentary. Highly visual, the film examines the thrilling regional phenomenon of Cajuns who wade in murky bayou waters to catch huge catfish and turtles by reaching into hollow logs and stumps with their bare hands. Friends and family accompany the handfisherman to the bayou banks for Cajun music, festive cooking, and storytelling, and to witness this increasingly rare tradition. Told from the inside with multiple voices, Mire and Bush explore the chain of events set off by man's attempt to "improve" his environment by dredging bayous in this remarkable study of the relationship between cultural and natural resources.

Watermen(en)

In 1965, on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, there was the last operating fleet of sailing work boats in the United States. Forty-odd "Skipjacks" were still used by Maryland watermen to dredge up oysters from the Bay. At that time, the fleet had survived because of a Maryland conservation law which prohibits the use of motor power for oyster dredging. The watermen traditionally marked the opening of each oystering season with a skipjack race which the Maryland State Tourist Board incorporated into its annual "Chesapeake Bay Appreciation Day."

Striper Time(en)

This RKO Sportscope series short presents two sportsmen fishing for striped bass.

Smallmouth Bass(en)

Learn the best methods to catch smallmouth bass in this VHS video from the early 1980s.

Sea the Truth(en)

This is the planet we still know so little. We call it Earth but less than 1/3 is land, over 2/3 is water and we use that water as a dumping site for our waste and as if it's an inexhaustible "horn of plenty" for humans. Our most important ecosystem is on the verge of collapse unless we act now. At this very moment the main problem with the oceans is that they're getting emptier and emptier. If we don't do anything then we face one of the biggest disasters in history of mankind.

Boat Song(gd)

Iorram is a lyrical portrait of the Gaelic-speaking fishing community in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, and its intimate relationship with the sea. This first-ever theatrical documentary entirely in Scottish Gaelic blends archive recordings of voices, stories and songs from the past with visuals of island life today and a contemporary folk score, to take the audience on an immersive and moving journey into the heart of an ancient community struggling to preserve its identity in the modern globalized world.

Elogio ao ½(pt)

Seadrift(en)

On August 3rd, 1979, a Vietnamese refugee shoots and kills a white crab fisherman at the town docks in Seadrift, TX. What began as a fishing dispute erupts in violence and ignites a resurgence of the KKK and open hostilities against the Vietnamese along the Gulf Coast. Set during the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival, “Seadrift” examines the circumstances that led up to the shooting, its tumultuous aftermath, and the unexpected consequences that continue to reverberate today.

Nanook of the North(en)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Comuna Engabao(es)

Can a commune survive in the 21st Century? Engabao, a fishing commune in Ecuador, has historically been a site of land struggle between inhabitants and wealthy businessmen that threaten to convert collective lands into private property. Three founding members of the commune share their life stories, from which we discover that the struggle to survive, both individually and collectively, is one and the same.

Bass Man(en)

Takahiro Omori came to the U.S. from Japan in 1992 with the goal of becoming a professional bass fisherman. Bass Man finds Takahiro during the 2001 season, the year that began his rise to superstardom against all odds in a sport that’s on its way to becoming the next NASCAR. Takahiro looks to two icons of the sport, Rick Clunn and Jay Yelas, to try and unlock the secrets of their successes and becomes torn between their opposing philosophies on life, God and fishing. Bass Man is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at this wildly popular and sometimes bizarre sport- the icons, the fans, the history, and the professional fishermen, some forging careers the likes of rock stars, others just struggling to survive.

Cries from the Deep(fr)

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.

The End of the Line(en)

Examines the devastating effect that overfishing has had on the world's fish populations and argues that drastic action must be taken to reverse these trends. Examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.

Violated Paradise(en)

A modern geisha travels through Japan trying to find a job as entertainer, and ends up by finding love and a job as ama, a pearl diver.

Fratello mare(it)

The Work completes the "quadrilogy" of South Seas seen over a twenty-year period. This film, tells the choral story of an island that in the short time of a generation loses its identity.

As Long as the Rivers Run(en)

Examines the violence and civil disobedience leading up to the hallmark decision in U.S. v. Washington, with particular reference to the Nisqually Indians of Frank's Landing in Washington.

The Kaipara Affair(en)

A documentary about the threat posed to New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour by rapacious commercial fishing and development.

River Monsters Presents: Killer Catfish Extended Cut(nl)