Tucked among towering Aleutian volcanic mountains and pristine alpine rivers on the Alaska Peninsula is a unique stretch of habitat: Alaska’s Bear Coast, home to the greatest density of wild brown bears in the world.

Wildlife preserves — McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, Katmai National Park, Lake Clark National Park, and many more — make this coast one of the few places globally where people can safely view wild brown bears up close in the company of an expert bear guide.

Despite the number of protected wildlife areas, brown bears still experience significant threats to their survival. The fractured, disconnected landscape of the national and state park systems exposes the bears to many threats, like mining, logging, hunting, oil and gas extraction, and climate change.

This short, informative documentary centers multi-focal storytelling with a local, diverse cast of characters to provide a nuanced account of contentious environmental issues that have real, lived impacts for Alaska Peninsula residents and bear populations alike.

While many environmental films use a narrator or single character to drive story, we develop our story through a cohort of people along the Bear Coast, including Alaska Native community members, a bear guide, a biologist, and a former bear hunter, among others.

Our goal with this film is to educate a broader audience and elicit an empathetic emotional response that shifts viewers’ hearts and minds to better understand bears and the communities that coexist with them.