October 30, 2018 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:
The Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues on Friday, November 16th at 7:00 PM with Life by Lobster, a 55-minute documentary that takes you inside the lives of five young lobster fishermen determined to pursue this proud traditional vocation against steadily mounting obstacles.
Co-produced by LA television director J. Miller Tobin (Gossip Girl, Num3ers, CSI) and Maine-based Opera House Arts, LBL was selected as part of the Maine International Film Festival’s “Best of 2009” collection and is partially funded by the Perfect Storm Foundation, among others.
“I began work on this film when I was 19, in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at Emory University. During that first year away from the small island off the coast of Maine where I had grown up, I realized, like never before, the uniqueness of my home and the people who define it.
While I left our island to go off to college and pursue new found opportunities, many of my classmates in our close-knit, 26-member graduating class of 2005 opted to go directly to work on the water, taking on the life and lifestyle of commercial lobstermen.
Facing a myriad of economic and regulatory hurdles, not to mention trying to overcome youthful inexperience in a tough, competitive industry, these young men could be, I feared, a dying breed. Their story needed to be told.
Initially armed with little more than a camcorder and a newly found commitment to a career in film, I began my attempt at making something that personified the characterizations, motivations, and lifestyle associated with pursuing lobstering as a vocation.
Three years later, after a continual progression in my own abilities as a filmmaker, stacks of grant requests, upgrades in equipment, incredible honesty and patience from my subjects, over 20 hours of raw footage, and endless support from friends, family, and mentors came the story I had hoped to tell – an authentic portrayal of lobster fishing as an industry, a community, and a way of life.”
– Iain McCray Martin
Dock-U-Mentaries is a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. Films about the working waterfront are screened on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.