SOCKEYE SALMON. RED FISH

Sockeye, a species of wild salmon, is born in Kamchatkan waters and spends its entire life in the Pacific Ocean. Only once does it return to fresh waters — to give offspring, start the circle of life, and die. It is an inexhaustible resource that feeds billions of people on the planet, restored every year. But soon, we may find ourselves facing the unimaginable: humans will exhaust the inexhaustible.

DMITRIY SHPILENOK

Graduated from Moscow State Art and Cultural University, majoring in film and TV directing. Documentary filmmaker. Director of photography in ’Kamchatka Bears. Life Begins’, documentary box office leader 2018 in Russia, awarded worldwide, Best Documentary of the Year in the main Russian film award ’Golden Eagle’. Author of video projects ’Priroda Show’ and ’I am a bear!’ Produced video for Russian and international TV channels (including BBC World) about 40 specially protected natural areas of Russia.

The film is finished thirteen years after I first had the idea to tell the story of Kamchatka’s wild salmon. I first arrived in the Kamchatkan wildlife sanctuary in 2007, with plans to shoot this film. I soon learned that shooting in those conditions was impossible. The scale of poaching on Kurile Lake shocked me. Every night, poaching groups poached over 500 kilos of sockeye caviar. It was dangerous to be near the areas most rich in fish. With this new knowledge the idea to film a documentary about sockeye, right next to those who were illegally eradicating it, seemed overly bold. I had to put away the camera for a couple of years and join the task force that fought poaching. Today, thousands of tourists from all over the world visit Kuril Lake, poaching has finally become history, and the film about sockeye salmon has become a reality.

Closing Night Film 2020 | Doker Kids 2020