We are delighted to announce that together with City to Sea, we’ll be co-hosting the Bristol premiere of Patagonia’s ‘ARTIFISHAL’ documentary at the Arnolfini on Tuesday 30th July, 7:30pm
NB: Tickets are limited and can be booked via Eventbrite here .
This shocking but important film shows the devastation caused by factory farming salmon with consequences that could be existential for wild salmon.
Produced by Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard and directed by Josh “Bones” Murphy, ARTIFISHAL brings into sharp focus the plight of wild fish due to hatcheries and fish farms.
The film takes us inside hatcheries in California, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where we witness the conditions of factory fish farms as well as the genetically inferior, dumbed-down salmon they churn out in massive numbers. At a wrecked net-pen farm outside of Cyprus Island, WA, nets swing in the tide after more than 240,000 diseased, drugged factory fish escaped into the wild population. In a beautiful fjord near Alta, Norway, the underwater destruction and disease caused by an open-water fish farm are seen firsthand as activists record the devastation. Along the Elwha River in northwest Washington State, we track the return of wild fish after the largest dam removal project in the United States, later learning that after spending 320 million dollars to remove dams and restore wild fish, the river is once again home to hatcheries.
“Humans have always thought of themselves as superior to nature and it’s got us into a lot of trouble. We think we can control nature; we can’t.” notes Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia founder. “Fish farms and open net pens only treat the symptoms and not the causes of the problem. If we value wild salmon, we need to do something now. A life without wild nature and a life without these great, iconic species is an impoverished life. If we lose all wild species, we’re going to lose ourselves.”
Natalie Fee, founder of City to Sea, said “We’re super pleased to be collaborating with Rubber Republic to bring this film to Bristol. It’s not going to be an easy watch, but it’s essential viewing. Communities coming together to reveal the problems we’re facing as a society and then have time to reflect on them, share and socialise, is part of how we change things. City to Sea has hosted some challenging films before, and they’re always a sell-out … and not just because of our famous raffle!”
Now more than ever before, we all need to be individually aware and accountable to the impact our consumption has on the natural world. The ability film has to hold the mirror up to the damage we are causing is incredibly powerful, and one of the most effective weapons in the war against ignorance & complacency.
Tickets are £15.18 (which includes a free re-usable steel drinking cup).
All proceeds will go to City to Sea, the not for profit campaigning organisation preventing plastic pollution at source by connecting our actions to our oceans.
Hope to see you all at the Arnolfini in a fortnight 🙂
Posted By
MattG