
Independent Lens
One With the Whale
Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence.
Jewel comes from a long line of skilled native Alaskan hunters. But can she balance the complications of a modern teenager with her connection to village life?
Alexandra is a director based in New York City. Her work has been recognized by the Wasserman Awards, National Board of Review, and British Council. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and began her career at Vice. She went on to run a filmmaking workshop for refugees in Greece with an NGO supported by the European Commission and Stavros… Show more
Gina Pollack is a documentary filmmaker & multimedia artist, interested in telling stories about culture, politics, and policy. Her multimedia work has been published in the NY Times, Broadly and LA Weekly, among others. She recently produced two long form documentaries for the Los Angeles PBS affiliate, KCET, about criminal exoneration and… Show more
Cass Gardiner is an Anishinaabe Algonquin kwe filmmaker, curator, and writer from Kebaowek First Nation in what is now called Quebec, Canada. Her documentary film The Edible Indian has met critical acclaim in classrooms and theatres internationally and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the American Indian Film Festival. She is also a… Show more
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Sixteen-year-old Jewel Wilson is the next generation in a long line of prolific Inupiat subsistence hunters in Unalakleet, Alaska. Her ability to hunt moose is hindered by two pressing issues – scarce wildlife and the pressures of high school life. Finding sufficient food competes with track practice and homework in Jewel’s multilayered world. Along with her father, Jewel turns to the land to feed their family and finds that their village’s way of life is endangered by the same environmental shifts that could affect us all. In hunting moose, we see that Jewel is also hunting for answers. How will her village survive if subsistence hunting is threatened? Can she honor the traditions of her Elders while navigating the pressures and anxieties of a modern, connected teenager? Jewel’s Hunt proves to be both physical and philosophical in this insightful exploration of what it means to come of age in complicated times in Unalakleet, Alaska.
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