Artifishal, produced by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, is a film about the protection of wild fish.
VENTURA, Calif. (April 12, 2019) – Today, Patagonia released Artifishal—an illuminating 80-minute investigative documentary film by Liars & Thieves. The film explores the high cost—ecological, financial and cultural—of our mistaken belief that engineered solutions can make up for habitat destruction. It traces the impact of fish hatcheries and farms and the extraordinary amount of American tax dollars wasted on an industry that hinders wild fish recovery, pollutes our rivers and contributes to the problem it claims to solve.
Patagonia founder and executive producer Yvon Chouinard and director/producer Josh “Bones” Murphy bring us Artifishalto tell the story of fish hatcheries and fish farms from California to Norway. We witness the conditions of factory fish farms as well as the genetically inferior, dumbed-down salmon they churn out. The film explores the repercussions of a wrecked net pen and the underwater destruction and disease caused by an open-water fish farm. And after the largest dam removal project in the United States, we watch government waste in action: $320 million on hatcheries after wild fish had been restored in their natural habitat. But the film also gives us hope and reminds us of nature’s resilience. In examples in Montana and Washington, after hatcheries were shut down, wild fish rebound.
“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. “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.”
Patagonia was founded over 40 years ago by a dirtbag climber who wanted to explore wild places. The company is still in business today because it fights to protect lands and waters all around the world. The company is suing the Trump administration in an effort to protect public lands and has donated over $100 million to environmental nonprofits working on the most pressing challenges facing our planet. This film is the third in a trilogy about rivers by Patagonia, following DamNationand Blue Heart.
Artifishal trailer can be found here.
Link to press images here.
Artifishal will screen across the US starting in April 2019.
April 12: Patagonia Portland
April 16: Patagonia Vancouver
April 17: Patagonia San Francisco
April 18: Patagonia Ventura
April 18: Patagonia Reno
April 19: Patagonia Santa Monica
April 20: Anglers All (Littleton, CO)
April 22: Patagonia Denver
April 23: Ovation (Chicago, IL)
April 23: The Old Depot Theatre (Dillon, MT)
April 24: Fins & Feathers (Bozeman, MT)
April 25: Tribeca Film Festival (NYC)
April 25: Caddis Fly Angling Shop (Eugene, OR)
April 25: Brookland Production House (Washington, D.C.)
April 27: Patagonia SoHo
April 29: Patagonia Boston
April 30: Patagonia Freeport
May 8: Patagonia Nashville
Visit https://www.patagonia.com/artifishal.html for more information, screening venue locations and for a list of film festivals where Artifishal is screening.
About Patagonia
We’re in business to save our home planet.
Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California. A Certified B Corporation, the company is recognized internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism—and its contributions of more than $100 million in grants and in-kind donations to date.
US Press Contacts
Corley Kenna Corley.Kenna@patagonia.com