Island filmmaker's documentary wins top prize at California Film Awards - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 12:44 PM | Calgary | 7.1°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
PEI

Island filmmaker's documentary wins top prize at California Film Awards

An Islander's documentary about starving tuna populations in North Lake, P.E.I., has made quite the splash since it was released in 2016 and it has, once again, received top prize on the international stage.

'It's pretty amazing, the film has done phenomenally well over the last year,' Bluefin director says

Island filmmaker John Hopkins hopes the success of Bluefin, a documentary about why the normally wary bluefin tuna in the area no longer fear humans, stirs up interest in P.E.I. filmmaking and storytelling. (Submitted by John Hopkins)

An Islander's documentary aboutstarving tuna populations in North Lake,P.E.I.,has made quite the splash since it was released in 2016 and it has, once again, received top prize on the international stage.

John Hopkins'Bluefinrecently won the award for best documentary feature at the California Film Awards another significant achievement for the 53-minute film.

It really brings some attention to P.E.I. as a place where good films can come from. John Hopkins

Though he wasn't in San Diego to accept the award,Hopkins said he's "thrilled" with the win.

"It's pretty amazing, the film has done phenomenally well over the last year," he said.

"It's a very significant award and there'sa lot of competition at a lot of these festivals."

'It really brings some attention to P.E.I.'

Since the documentarywas released roughly 18 months ago, it's received critical acclaim and has been screened atfilm festivals around the globe.

TheNational Film Board of Canada also picked up the rights to the film and distributed it to 150 libraries across Canada.

Highlighting thedocumentary's success, Hopkins said filmmakers on P.E.I. typically see themselves"on the periphery" as storytellers but thatpeople "have to realize the stories that can come from here can be important."

John Hopkins' Bluefin recently won the award for best documentary feature at the California Film Awards. (Bluefin/Square Deal Productions)

"It really brings some attention to P.E.I. as a place where good films can come fromI hope that will translate into more interest in our filmmakers and filmmaking here," he said.

"When films come along like this, it kind of sets a bar in the sense that what happens on P.E.I. is important."

As for what's next for the filmmaker, he said he has a "few other projects cooking."

Hopkins is interested in doing a followup toBluefinby exploring international tuna populations or looking into the salmon fisheries in British Columbia.

In case you missed it, there's a screening of the documentaryat the Montague Rotary Library on Jan. 24.