Independent Lens
Camp Widow
At Camp Widow, every attendee, volunteer, speaker, and staff member has lost their partner; together they find camaraderie and unexpected joy.
One With the Whale
An Alaskan family faces online attacks around their ancestral practices when animal activists target their son, the youngest person to ever harpoon a whale for his village.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- April 22, 2024
- Length
- 90 minutes
Co-Director
Jim Wickens
Jim Wickens is a leading storyteller on the frontline of environmental conflicts. His work has screened on Channel 4 News, Animal Planet, CNN, and ITV. His uncompromising style has earned him numerous awards, including the RTS Independent Filmmaker of the Year and the Wincott Foundation Award for Journalism. This is his first feature documentary.
Co-Director
Peter Chelkowski
Pete Chelkowski is a producer and director of long- and short-form content. His debut feature film was Carnival Roots and his other works include Life Below Zero: First Alaskans, Who Runs the World, Ocean Warriors, Fighting Tuna, and I Learn America. He regularly works undercover for Ecostorm, an environmental detective agency.
Producer
Aakapak Susan Apassingok
Born in Gambell, Alaska, Aakapak is married to Takeva, a whaling captain, and is a proud mother to Nalu, Chris, and Chase. Aakapak trained as a medical assistant, and now she focuses on preparing and providing for the family. Aakapak loves to pick berries in the tundra in the summer months. Aakapak has served as Mayor of Gambell and as a health aide.
Co-Producer
Yaari Walker
Yaari Walker is a spiritual healer who was born and raised in the village of Savoonga located on St. Lawrence Island. Her clan is Aymaaramka and Qiwaghmii clan. She is the Indigenous Consultant at Alaska Pacific University, assisting their transformation into a Tribal College. Previously, she ran the Unguwat Program at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
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The Film
The Apassingoks live on St. Lawrence, a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, with their shy teenage son Chris. Unlike mainland kids, he must regularly miss school and head out in -20°F into the deadly waters to provide food for his family and community elders. Chris is one of the last whale hunters of his generation, a profession now challenged by climate change. When Chris becomes the youngest person to harpoon a whale, the village is ecstatic. His proud mother shares photos with other Native communities on social media, but the family is blindsided when hundreds of hate messages and death threats pour in from online activists around the world. Already emotionally vulnerable and struggling to graduate high school, Chris looks to his family to overcome this intense adversity, especially his older sister Nalu, but she faces her own challenges and must leave the island to find love and happiness.
One With the Whale chronicles the obstacles Chris and his family face, amidst larger currents of food security, environmental justice, climate change, cultural genocide, and social media. The livelihood of the Apassingoks and their village are threatened as they search for a balance between modernity and a traditional subsistence lifestyle.
