Join the Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center for a day of ocean and Great Lakes Films.
NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosts the Thunder Bay International Film Festival in partnership with the International Ocean Film Festival, the premier global platform for ocean literacy and education through independent film.
For thousands of years Makah Tribal fishermen like Robert Moss have hunted for traditional foods in the waters of Washington's Neah Bay. But today thousands of tons of marine debris literally loom over the Makah Tribe's ancestral waters, threatening to choke the waters that sustained these self-described ocean hunters' families for generations - including a dystopian 3,000-ton piece of concrete-and-steel highway bridge abandoned here decades ago. It's a daily reminder of the potentially toxic waters plaguing this small fishing community. In this story of environmental and social justice, a coalition of motivated individuals and organizations works together in a spectacle of mechanical and human determination to demolish, remove, and recycle the massive decaying highway fragment and abandoned vessels of Neah Bay.
Saving Sturgeon the Tribal Way, Kathy Johnson & Greg Lashbrook (USA) 30 min*
The Odawa, Ojibwa and Potawatomie, collectively known as the People of the Three Fires, were the first people to inhabit the Great Lakes region and their history is forever entwined with the lake sturgeon. Saving Sturgeon the Tribal Way is the latest film by award-winning husband-and-wife team Kathy Johnson and Greg Lashbrook. The film explores the lake sturgeon’s Traditional role in Native American culture as told through interviews with community members across Michigan and examines how Traditional beliefs have guided and revolutionized lake sturgeon restoration efforts in the Great Lakes with outstanding results. After nearly two decades and thousands of dives filming lake sturgeon across the region – Greg and Kathy are uniquely positioned to capture both the ecological and cultural importance of lake sturgeon to the People of the Three Fires.
Eating: The Power of Save the Ocean, Julien Challandes (France) 52 min
What if our food could save the ocean? Malaury, a passionate ocean activist, embarks on a journey across France to explore how our food choices affect the ocean’s health. Along the way, she meets innovators creating sustainable solutions that protect the sea. Through their work, Malaury discovers eating responsibly can safeguard the ocean’s future and restore the planet’s vital lifeblood.
*Filmmaker or representative expected for Q&A
Date & Time
Sat, Jan 24, 2026 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Venue Details
Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center THEATER 2
500 West Fletcher Street Alpena, Michigan 49707
Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Established in 2010 by local community leaders, the Friends of TBNMS is a nonprofit 501(c)3. Its founders envisioned the significant opportunity the sanctuary offered for protecting our Great Lakes and their rich maritime history, hands-on educational experiences for area students, and local economic development. Today, that vision has become a reality with the Friends of TBNMS sharing a close working relationship with the sanctuary staff, playing a critical role in funding the sanctuary’s education programs, community outreach efforts, unique museum experiences, and research.
