The award-winning documentary film “In Cod We Trust” is having a homecoming of sorts. It is the centerpiece of a Cape Ann Museum event with a film screening and panel discussion this Saturday, Aug. 19, at 1 p.m. in the museum’s auditorium, during Gloucester’s Fisheries Heritage Month.
The 18-minute documentary had its premiere in February at the Sony Future Filmmakers Awards in Los Angeles, where it won the top award in the Student Filmmaker Non-Fiction category.
Currently on a festival run, it has been screened at the Salem Film Fest, Redstone Film Festival and the Montreal Independent Film Festival. The film includes interviews with the Gloucester Fisheries Director Al Cottone, the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association President Angela Sanfilippo, Jim Seavey, Gail Seavey, Francesco Paul Vitale, Dave Leveille, Kellen O’Maley and Mark Grant.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion, which includes Cottone and Sanfilippo, about issues faced by local fishermen and their impact on the community.
The short film was made by Seonghoon Eric Park of South Korea, and Raphaël Edwards, of Paris, France, both recent graduates of Boston University where they studied film and television.
The film synopsis states: Gloucester is home to one of the oldest and largest fishing communities in the United States. Generations of immigrants have worked on the rough waters of New England since the late 1600s, but recent changes in government regulations and ocean temperatures have endangered their sacred practice. Young aspiring fishermen are now scarce, and the history of this once bustling community is endangered. Those who have fished for cod and its relative species look to stay alive despite a gloomy future.
The documentary explores the Gloucester fishing industry, from the past to the present with a view toward the future.
This film was one of five shortlisted in its category and one of more than 4,000 global submissions in the Sony Future Filmmakers Awards, according to the website BU Today. The documentary also was included in an article about the awards in The Hollywood Reporter.
Andrew Logue, the distributing producer for the film, thanked the locals who helped make this film possible.
“We are actually made up of an entirely immigrant team but have all been living in the United States for around 10 years. While we have an outside perspective, there is no way this documentary could have been made without significant involvement from the local Gloucester community,” he said. “The filmmakers were interested in the fishing industry in general and were able to build connections with Gloucester via contacting a number of organizations.”
In his bio, Park noted that his goal as a filmmaker is to “precisely capture the essence of human interactions and conflicts using the visual language.”
The event is free to museum members, $10 for others. For details, visit capeannmuseum.org.
To view a trailer, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03B5Naw34A.
Gail McCarthy can be reached at 978-675-2706, or at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com.