People of the Seal

This award-winning film explores the centuries-old connection between the northern fur seal and the Unangan natives of Alaska's Pribilof and Aleutian Islands in the middle of the Bering Sea. Aquilina Lestenkof traces five generations of her own family's history in this remote part of the world, weaving together native, Russian, and American cultural threads. At the heart of the story, are the fur seals. Like the Unangan, the fur seals are struggling to survive. As Aquilina says, 'if they're not here, then we won't be either.'

"People of the Seal" has been recognized in the following ways:

International Wildlife Film Festival
-Special Jury Award
-Best Cultural Message
-Best Graphics

Montana CINE International Film Festival
-Best of Category, Non-Fiction

34th American Indian Film Festival
-Finalist, Best Documentary Feature

2010 Silver Telly Awards in Nature/Wildlife, Government Relations, History/Biography, Education, and Cultural

Offical Selections at
-2009 Anchorage International Film Festival
-2010 BLUE Ocean Film Festival
-2010 Gray's Reef Ocean Film Festival