Existing for Alaska - A Student Film About Salmon

My name is Kelsey and I'm a student here at the University of Western England in their master's program for wildlife filmmaking.

I'm here asking for your help to make my final film, which will take place back home in Alaska and will be about salmon. I know that salmon is kind of a funny topic. It's not the most interesting animal in the world. It's not very cute, It's not very cuddly, but it is extremely important.

Being here, being away from home for so long has made me realize just how much it means to me and truly what it means to the world.

Nearly half of the world's consumed salmon comes from Alaska, and yet not many people understand the difference between farmed salmon and fresh Alaskan salmon. There are so many nutrients that fresh Alaskan salmon give us. That regular farmed salmon just don't have.

The point of my film is to showcase just how integral salmon are and Alaskan culture, how important they are to our ecosystem and how important they are to the world.

The film is going to follow one Salmon's Journey up the Kenai River - the river. I was lucky enough to grow up fishing on and showcase just how much they change along the journey.

How stressful it is, the different animals that they have to interact with or avoid, and show just truly how hard it is to swim upriver for hundreds of miles just to be able to spawn.

The main reason I'm making this film is that our salmon have yet to get permanent protections on their home. If I'm able to showcase just how difficult a salmon's life is without the added stress of infrastructure not needed in these areas - then I'll have done something worthwhile.

Without salmon, Alaska is not the same. Without salmon, our ecosystem will crumble and we need to protect this resource and every single way possible.

I think that this is a great opportunity for me to be able to tell a story that is not just my own, but all of Alaska's, and showcase just how important it is that we protect these spaces.

Any contributed funding for this film will go towards:

Correct permitting means that we can be sure that we're filming correctly and under the guidance of any fish and game or national park rules that they decide to put into place.

In the end, I hope to be able to give back a film that makes a difference.

Thank you for your support in this project, whether it's sharing this page, sharing a link to this fund, giving funds or anything in between. I cannot tell you how much it means to me or how excited I am to build this project.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing from you soon!