‘Alaskan Women Mariners’ film wins at Moondance

Frontiersman.com

NEW YORK — Adding to her list of accolades, Capt. Anna Young has won the coveted Moondance Film Festival’s Filmed Television Pilot Spirit Award on Sept. 17 in New York City.

Young arrived in Alaska 50 years ago and is a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, third generation Alaskan, as well as a 100 Ton Captain and fishing boat owner.

Her 29-minute film, “Alaskan Women Mariners gives the world a bird’s eye perspective of Alaska’s fishing world.

Include in the film are fishing all-stars like Alaska’s youngest 100 Ton Captain, Capt. Lilly Lane of Homer, Chelsea Bollinger of Kodiak, Capt. Sarah Brooks of Ninilchik, Sydney-Jane Armstrong of Homer and Capt. Lindsey Johnson of Ketchikan, Young said. She said the win includes bragging rights for the Mat-Su Valley, too, since Capt. Brooks lives here, but fishes on the Kenai Peninsula.

Young was a salmon drift gillnetter in Prince William Sound in 1989, when the Exxon “Valdez” oil spill occurred, and was the first responder out of west Prince William Sound in Whittier, to assist on her boat F/V “The Sugar.” Most recently she lent her expertise and services to remove debris from Alaska coastal waters because of the Japanese tsunami disaster.

The Moondance International Film Festival is an independent annual film festival and awards competition that began in 2000 in Boulder, Colo., and honors filmmakers, writers and composers who actively increase awareness, provide multiple viewpoints, address complex social issues, and strengthen ties between international audiences.