By Tiffany Edwards , University Relations
Fishing families in the town of Snead's Ferry preserve a vanishing way of life in 'Wild Caught.'
A small fishing town comes to grips with coastal growth and globalization in a new documentary, “Wild Caught: The Life and Struggles of an American Fishing Town,” directed by UNCG's Matthew Barr.
“Wild Caught” will be shown in Elliott University Center Auditorium on the UNCG campus at 7 p.m. April 29. Admission is free. Dr. Loren Schweninger of the UNCG Department of History will make introductory remarks.
The town of Snead’s Ferry, located on the New River about 40 miles north of Wilmington, has relied on the fishing industry for the past 300 years. Today the community’s tradition is suffering. Real estate taxes and fuel prices have skyrocketed. Imported seafood, which constitutes 70 percent of the seafood sold in America today, is giving small-scale fishermen serious competition. In addition, young people are not entering the family fishing businesses due to the cost and dangers of being a fisherman.
Nearly seven years ago, Barr, an associate professor in the Department of Broadcasting and Cinema, set out to document this way of life that is disappearing.
“This film is about more than fishing. It is about family, community, spirituality, life itself. These people have a connection to the natural world that most of us don’t have.”
Fishermen must not only be in tune with the sea, they must be physically fit, knowledgeable mechanics and insightful weathermen. Their jobs become intimately connected to their personal lives. Local fisherman Mack Liverman lost two ships beneath him. Rev. John Norris, a shrimper and Pentecostal minister, weaves the philosophy of a fisherman into his sermons.
Throughout the 90-minute documentary, viewers meet not only fishermen, but also others in the town whose survival revolves around the sea – net makers, crab pot makers, those who sell fishing tackle. In addition, Barr interviews experts Dr. B.J. Copeland, marine biologist emeritus from North Carolina State University, and Dr. David Griffith, anthropologist from East Carolina University.
Barr said the small size of the town – approximately 2,200 residents - made building trust essential to capturing a realistic portrait of Snead’s Ferry.
“There are some negative stereotypes about commercial fishermen. There were some concerns if I’d be even-handed,” Barr said. “These fishermen are practicing sustainable, small-scale fishing, but unfortunately in the mind’s eye of the public, they’re grouped together with large-scale, trawler operations.”
He invested a significant amount of time in getting to know the residents (with extensive filming over a six-year period).
Barr plans to enter the film in film festivals around the country next year, as well as screen it for interested legislators and advocacy groups. He has started a nonprofit, the Unheard Voices Project, to continue to make films about working class people. His last film, “Carnival Train,” explored the lives of carnival workers. For more information, call (336) 334-3887.
“Wild Caught” was funded by grants from North Carolina Sea Grant, the North Carolina Arts Council and UNCG.
