PROUD, AUTHENTIC FISHERIES

  • January 1, 2020

Promotional film shows realities of producing some of the world’s finest seafood

“One non-negotiable was that it was going to be authentic, we were going to use real people.”

That was the starting point for Craig Harris, executive producer at Furrow Content, when his company set out to film a promotional film titled ‘Not Humble’ for PEI seafood. No matter what else, the people featured in the film would be fishers, family, friends, and storytellers from PEI.

Harris’ second non-negotiable?

“We made a decision and we let the department [of fisheries] know that we were going to honour those lost at sea and their families.”

That second decision was important but also meant a delicate dance of trying to find someone in the fishing community who had suffered a great personal loss and who would also be willing to be on camera to depict that loss. Harris was adamant that they did not approach anyone who may have lost anyone recently. As is often the case with PEI, a few phone calls and connections and the mayor of Tignish had a name for them, Carolyn Gaudet.

Harris shared the experience of calling Gaudet and explaining the project to her and their commitment to honour those lost at sea and their families. “And I said, ‘this is awkward for me, but on the 23rd of September we’ll be filming in Tignish the first day, and around dinnertime, we’d like to film a scene that pays homage to your late husband Lorry. She said, ‘Craig, September 23rd at dinnertime is exactly 23 years that Lorry went down’.” After a few weeks’ thought and consulting her family, Gaudet eventually agreed to participate in the project and they are featured in the film.

As he and his partner Marla Morrison shared this part of the ‘Not Humble’ journey, it was easy to see that the project became more to them than a simple win of a government RFP (request for proposal).

The PEI Department of Fisheries and Communities contracted Furrow Content to produce the spot that will be used in promoting PEI’s seafood across the globe. With its launch in early December, the government also launched a new website devoted to PEI Seafood, princeedwardislandseafood.com, where the promotional film can be viewed, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage.

Awarded the deal in July, Harris and his team quickly set to work on getting the pieces in place to shoot the footage in September. Award-winning director Brent Foster came on board quickly, and the team assembled the necessary crew. Morrison is credited as the Line Producer, and she did much of the legwork behind the scenes, particularly on the logistics side. Simple details like being allowed to put a lobster trap in the water meant coordinating with the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans, as it is highly regulated as to where and when that can happen.

Photo credit: Furrow Content

The six-day filming schedule took them from tip to tip on PEI, and they shot in locations like Tignish, Souris, Skinner’s Pond, French River, Miminegash, North Rustico, Souris, Redhead Harbour, Morell, and Orwell Cove. Its dark and moody feel stems from being shot in sun, wind, and rain, sunrise and sunset, all elements that added to its realism. Highlighting the various fisheries on PEI, the people in front of the camera were all hardworking Islanders, true to the authentic nature of the film.

“There’s a shot of a father and son looking at each other from dock to boat,” Harris explained. “He’s a lobster fisherman, that’s the son.”

The ceilidh scene brought Island musicians to the screen and Morrison tells the story of how they discovered the house they picked for the party was “actually the original kitchen party house of the community in Orwell Cove from a hundred years ago where people used to gather and play music and do exactly what we did. The energy that night [of shooting] was…”, “was incredible,” Harris interjected.

They are proud of their hard work in producing the 80-second film, yet at the same time, humbled themselves by the experience of working with PEI fishers. Harris said, “I really do feel privileged to have been able to do this project and meet the people we have.”

About Cheryl Young

A “Jill of all trades” describes Cheryl to a T. From operating her own handyperson company, to selling luxury cars, to working as a film and TV crew member, her resume is diverse. But her dream as a kid was to be a journalist and she started down that path many years ago at CBC Charlottetown. Returning to her journalism roots, she’s excited to be editing Salty’s content and occasionally writing herself.

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