Fish Tail

Between 1998 and 2002, Portuguese filmmakers Joachim Pinto and Nuno Leonel (What Now? Remind Me) shot footage of their friend Artur and his family, fishermen living in the remote Azores Islands, who fear that the end of small-scale fishing is near. They returned to the footage recently to create this beautiful, moving essay film. With respect and affection, they observe and consider their friends’ daily work as “men of the sea”—the repetitive manual labor; the collective spirit seen in shared meals, income, and catch; and the deep connection to a place and to ancient ways.