Understory
Catalogue Number: WCM004
Producer: Wild Confluence Media
Producing Agencies: Wild Confluence Media
Subject: Canadian History, Canadian Social Studies, Documentary, Environmental Studies, First Nations Studies, Indigenous Issues, Science, Social Issues, Social Sciences, Social Studies
Language: English
Grade Level: 9 - 12, Post Secondary, Adult
Country Of Origin: United States
Copyright Year: 2021
Running Time: 39:59
Told through the lens of three women with unique personal connections to Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, Understory advances the case that saving ancient forests is critical to both the resilience of humans and the future of our planet’s climate. At the heart of Understory is Elsa Sebastian, a young local fisherman who grew up “off-grid” in a remote Southeast Alaskan village surrounded by the vast 16.7M acre Tongass National Forest. Upon learning of plans by the U.S. federal government to strip environmental protections for nine million acres of the Tongass, Elsa recruits biologist Dr. Natalie Dawson and artist Mara Menahan to sail into remote parts of the forest and document old growth trees, the devastation of clearcutting, and to learn more about indigenous cultural connections to the Tongass.
Coast Film "MacGillivray Freeman Environmental Filmmaker Award"
Bend Film Festival "Best Outdoor/Environmental Short"
Films for the Forest "Best Short"
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