Fairy Creek

by Jen Muranetz

About the Film

In the summer of 2020, construction of a new logging road was coursing towards the headwaters of the intact Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek) valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; the unceded territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation. A group of environmentalists interfere and set up a blockade to stop old-growth logging in the area. For nine uninterrupted months, the movement expands from one blockade to many, capturing the imaginations of thousands of concerned citizens, conservationists and Indigenous land defenders to join in a last-ditch effort to save some of Canada’s remaining old growth forests. But when an injunction is approved, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrives to arrest people standing in the way of logging, sparking a dramatic and historic stand-off now recognized as Canada’s largest act of civil disobedience. With unique insider access and employing in-the-trenches cinema vérité, FAIRY CREEK follows this blockade from its early inception to its bittersweet endings through the lens of an ensemble cast of blockade vanguards and those who oppose them.

FAIRY CREEK is a story of resilience and grit, a quest for purpose, exploring the juncture of personal sacrifice, Indigenous sovereignty, ecological grief, and interpersonal tension that leads to the fallout of Canada’s largest ever demonstration of civil disobedience. By documenting this significant and contentious juncture in time, the film is calling attention to a much larger conversation: what does it take to find common ground in the fight for a climate-just future?

2024 · 1h25m · Canada

English

Screenings

October 17, 2024

Planet in Focus International Film Festival (Toronto, ON)

Credits

Director

Jen Muranetz

Producer

Jen Muranetz, Sepehr Samimi

Executive Producer(s)

Mark Achbar, Neal Livingston, Mitchell Steinke

Director of Photography

Sepehr Samimi

Editor

Rafi Spivak & Liam Sherriff

Sound

Eli Haligua

Composer

Amine Bouzaher

Story Advisor

Nettie Wild

Colour

Louis Hearn

Animation

Benjamin McGregor

Production Manager

Victoria Bull

“[FAIRY CREEK] has a feeling of being in the trenches and embedded in this experience and bringing the viewer along for the ride”

“FAIRY CREEK shows the blockade from its early inception until its ending, through the lens of protesters at the site as well as their opposition.”

“[FAIRY CREEK] takes us right into the action ..."

About the Director

Jen Muranetz

Official Website

Jen Muranetz (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and visual storyteller residing on the unceded and stolen Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, in the place now known as Vancouver, BC.

Jen has more than twelve years’ experience creating dynamic, story-driven content. She is a director, producer, editor, cinematographer and video journalist, having been involved in the creation of hundreds of videos for broadcast, film and independent clients. Her films are character-driven and impact-focused, centred around human resiliency. Her previous works have screened in festivals such as DOXA, DOK Leipzig and Planet in Focus. Jen’s participated in a number of labs and pitch programs including ‘Voices of Canada’ at DOCNYC, 2021 Whistler Doc Lab, Story to Action impact producing mentorship, and Green Pitch at Planet in Focus.

Official Website

Other films by Jen Muranetz