‘Rock Paper Fish’

Rock Paper Fish, from the filmmakers at Wild Confluence and Nomad Island, takes viewers to southeast Alaska, where life is inseparable from the age-old rhythms of the Chilkat River. Every year all five species of Pacific salmon return to the Chilkat, drawing the world’s largest gathering of bald eagles, grizzly bears, and fascinated tourists. The salmon also define life for two communities: the ancient Tlingit village of Klukwan and the scrappy commercial-fishing town of Haines. This way of life is threatened by Constantine Metal Resources, as it races to explore the potential of a hard-rock mine at the headwaters of the Chilkat. Some locals are eager for a mining boom, while others fear that the risks to the Chilkat watershed far outweigh short-term economic benefits.