Alaskan Nets Documentary to Premiere at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

MARCH 29, 2021: 

This is an excerpt from an article in Deadline Magazine:

Alaskan Nets is having its world premiere next month in the Documentary Competition at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The doc, directed by Jeff Harasimowicz, follows the high school boys basketball team in Metlakatla, the native reserve of the Tsimshian Indians off the coast of Southeast Alaska. It’s a town, we discover in the trailer, where two things matter: fishing and hoops.

The pic, directed and produced by Harasimowicz of Raised By Wolves and produced by Ryan Welch of AO Films, follows the improbable journey of cousins Danny Marsden and DJ King, fishermen and the stars of the Metlakatla Chiefs, as they seek the school’s first state championship in more than 30 years. That quest is the only thing that will bring life back to a remote island that has been rocked by tragedy.

 

Alaskan Nets is executive produced by Chris Pratt and his production company Indivisible Productions along with Jon Schumacher and Sahir Iqbal, in association with SLAM and RTG Features (sports docs A Kid From Coney Island, The House That Rob Built).

“I’m thrilled to partner with Jeff Harasimowicz, Ryan Welch and the entire Alaskan Nets team on bringing this inspiring story of Metlakatla to audiences everywhere,” Pratt said. “Having spent much of my childhood growing up in Alaska, and being a boy defined by a prominent sport in a small town, this documentary resonates with me on a very personal level.”

For more, here’s the rest of the article.

MARCH 9, 2021:

We are thrilled to announce that ALASKAN NETS has been selected to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival! The festival takes place in early April with a live, beachside drive-in AND a virtual component so anyone who wants to see the film can check it out from the comfort of their home. So excited to begin the journey of sharing this special story with the world!! More updates to come soon!!! 

JANUARY 20, 2021:

In September 2017 we took a leap of faith and jumped into a documentary project in Alaska. We partnered with Jeff Harasimowicz of Raised By Wolves Films (Bend, Oregon).

Ryan Welch and Ryan Rossman took turns traveling back-and-forth to the small town Metlakatla, from September of 2017 through March 2018. Metlakatla is a 45 minute ferry ride south of Ketchikan– an hour and a half flight from Seattle. (Thanks Alaska Airlines, for the sponsorship of multiple roundtrip flights).

Metlakatla is the last native reserve in the state of Alaska. We followed the high school boys basketball team in their quest to bring the town their first state championship since 1984.

We began post-production on the film in February of 2019. While COVID put a hold on a few things, finished the film in early 2021.

The film is independent and self-financed.