Browse Films

The commercial shrimping industry along the coasts of the American South is threatened by pollution, oil spills and consumer demand for less expensive foreign imports. THE SHRIMP is a meditative documentary film that follows the life, death and rebirth of one shrimp from the murky marshes of Savannah, Georgia. Beautifully etched images and a lush audio soundtrack create a rich observational work about coastal foodways, Southern culture, human folly and the interplay of natural and built environments. THE SHRIMP is as unique and engaging as the people, culture and geography it follows.

Recommended by educators as a teaching resource for courses in:

Sustainability / The Environment

Food & Food Systems

Oceanography / Marine Science / Fisheries

Human Ecology

Southern Studies

Creative Writing

Buddhist Studies

I use the film in my Marine Policy class. Taking the point of view of a lowly shrimp, as the film does, is a thought-provoking way to understand coastal ecosystems. The film is also beautiful and humorous. I recommend it for courses in environmental studies, anthropology, geography, and American studies.
Bonnie McCay, PhD
Professor of Human Ecology, Cultural Anthropology and Fisheries Research, Rutgers University

An artful documentary short that takes a nuanced approach to such topics as sustainability, food systems, ecology, and regional culture, [THE SHRIMP] is recommended.
Video Librarian
full review

On its surface, Keith Wilson's THE SHRIMP masquerades as a quirky and entertaining little film about a small part--quite literally--of the food chain. But beneath this facade, THE SHRIMP is a thoughtful, some would say philosophical, story about the complicated ways that people know the natural world that surrounds them through the foods that sustain their bodies and their cultures. The film shows the interconnectedness of all of life's creatures, and in the process suggests the profound impacts our food choices have not only on the lives of other beings but on entire ecosystems. Calling Wilson's film timely is an understatement.
Nicolaas Mink
Award-winning author and food historian

I loved it! A wonderfully provocative tool for talking about food systems and the food chain.
Ellen Frankenstein
Food activist and filmmaker

AWARDS & SCREENINGS:

• South by Southwest Film Festival

• PBS Broadcast

• Best Cinematography Award, Nextframe Touring Film Festival

• Director's Choice Award, Black Maria Touring Film Festival

• National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

• Berlin Short Film Festival

• Center for Sustainable Development Film Series

• Gene Siskel Film Center