UNEARTH
Bristol Bay's Indigenous leaders and fishermen confront North America's largest proposed copper mine, exposing the mining industry's recklessness while proving the power of community activism.
Amid the global race for critical minerals essential to energy and national security, Bristol Bay's commercial salmon fishermen and Indigenous leaders confront the prospect of North America's largest-ever copper mine in their beloved homeland, exposing the mining industry's systemic recklessness while proving the power of community activism. (Source: EPK / unearthfilm.com)
- Year
- 2026
- Hunter's role
- Director, Producer, Director of Photography
- Director
- John Hunter Nolan
- Type
- Feature Doc
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
- Countries
- USA (AK, ID, MT, UT), Canada (BC), Brazil
Collaborators
- Wilder Knight — Of Counsel, Pryor Cashman LLP; Board Treasurer, OPS Productions
- Lyman Smith
- Erin Brockovich — President, Brockovich Research & Consulting
- Gina Papabeis
- Jeremiah Fraites — Co-founder, The Lumineers
- Gino Amadori — Senior Colorist.
- Jennifer R. Nolan — Co-Executive Producer (Family)
- Jared Nolan — Camera Operator (Family)
- Karen Shatzkin — Entertainment Attorney.
- Saul Simon MacWilliams
- David E. Shaw — Co-founder & Trustee, Black Point Group; founding advisory board member, Curiosity Stream; Trustee, Ocean Elders
- Bill & Laurie Benenson — Co-founders of Benenson Productions.
- Vickie Curtis
- Eyal Levy — International Producer, Artist, Cinematographer.
- Alex Wallace
- Nick Perron-Siegel
- Ali Cengiz — Camera Operator, Cinematographer.
- Ellen Windemuth
- Carole Tomko — Owner & CEO, Peanut Productions; Board Member, Cascade PBS
- Olivia Ahnemann
- Réya Wahab — Music Editor, Orchestrator
- Sahir Iqbal — Co-Executive Producer, UNEARTH.
- Michael Cain — President & Executive Producer, M3 Films; Co-founder & President, EarthxFilm + EarthxTV.
- AlexAnna Salmon — President, Igiugig Village Council.
- Auberin Strickland — DP
Awards
PREMIERE: DOC NYC — November 2024 (World Premiere) WINS (7): • Jackson Wild Media Awards — Best Film, Planet in Crisis (2024) • Anchorage IFF — Real World Impact Award (2024) • Blue Water Film Festival — Producer Vision Award (2025) • San Luis Obispo IFF — Audience Award, Best Central Coast Documentary (2025) • Woods Hole Film Festival — Jury Award, Best Documentary Feature (2025) • New York Festivals — Gold Medal, Environment & Ecology (2025) • Oakland IFF — Best Feature Documentary (2025) NOMINATIONS (3): • Anchorage IFF — Best Documentary Feature (2024) • Cleveland IFF — Global Health Competition (2025) • DOXA — Best Documentary Feature (2025) GRANTS: • Together Films Climate Action Fund • Rogovy Foundation Miller/Packan Documentary Film Fund • Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Festivals
Documentary+ Streaming Premiere April 2026 • DOC NYC — Nov 2024 (World Premiere) • Jackson Wild Media Awards — May 2024 (WINNER) • St. Louis International Film Festival — Nov 2024 • Anchorage International Film Festival — Dec 2024 (WINNER + Nominee) • Big Sky Film Festival — Feb 2025 • Boulder International Film Festival — March 2025 • Blue Water Film Festival — March 2025 (WINNER) • DC Environmental Film Festival — March 2025 • Cleveland International Film Festival — March 2025 (Nominee) • Princeton Environmental Film Festival — April 2025 • San Luis Obispo International Film Festival — April 2025 (WINNER) • Dallas International Film Festival — April 2025 • DOXA Documentary Film Festival — May 2025 (Nominee) • Ecofalante Film Festival — May 2025 • Woods Hole Film Festival — July 2025 (WINNER) • New York Festivals Awards (WINNER) • Port Townsend Film Festival — Sept 2025 • Oakland International Film Festival — Sept 2025 (WINNER - Best Feature Documentary) • Planet On Film Festival — Sept 2025 • Doctober — Oct 2025 • Coast Film Festival — Nov 2025 • St. Augustine Film Festival — Jan 2026 • American Conservation Film Festival — March 2026
Real-world impact
The EPA vetoed the Pebble Mine under the Clean Water Act in January 2023, protecting Bristol Bay and the world's largest wild sockeye salmon run. The film continues to serve as a tool for mining reform advocacy, with an impact campaign backed by NRDC, SeaLegacy, Earthworks, and WaterBear, and an advisory board that includes Louie Psihoyos and WaterBear founder Ellen Windemuth. A special screening at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's Pocantico Center convened environmental leaders around the film's themes of community-driven activism and responsible resource extraction.