Fairy Creek

by Jen Muranetz

About the Film

The Fairy Creek (Ada’itsx) valley sprawls across Pacheedaht First Nation territory on southwestern Vancouver Island and its old growth forest ecosystem thrives with lush foliage, ancient tree trunks, and a variety of wildlife. However, the decimating chainsaws and tractor machinery of the Teal Jones lumber corporation disrupt this equilibrium as they ravage an environmental haven into pavement for their road-building project. Amidst the tumult, Jen Muranetz’s FAIRY CREEK captures the vast collective protests against this destructive logging operation: a movement which has spawned both the largest demonstration of civil disobedience in Canadian history and the mass arrests of 1200 people.

The film assembles visceral front-line footage of activists faced with an RCMP-enforced injunction, protesting from ground to sky as blockaders form barriers with their bodies and tree-sitters’ forest canopies are assailed by officers deployed from helicopters. Weaving together an array of perspectives, FAIRY CREEK is an urgent and heartbreaking portrait of collective resistance that simultaneously explores the contradictions in a mass movement of civil disobedience. Quickly, a conflict of intentions emerges, split between Indigenous land sovereignty and preservation of old growth forests. With nuance, Muranetz captures divisions between settler protestors and Indigenous activists. The film also elucidates stark disagreements between Pacheedaht youth and their band council, refuting the misconception of a monolithic Indigenous perspective. FAIRY CREEK depicts this historic struggle to defend Canadian old growth forestry as a dialogue of voices, where unity and disagreement constitute a growing movement.

2024 · 1h25m · Canada

English

Festivals and Awards

-4

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