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Appealing to Facts and Emotions, 'The Snake and the Whale' is a Call to Action by Briana Miller Idaho Mountain Express, March 27, 2026

Investigative documentary tells the intertwined story
of endangered Chinook salmon and Orcas.

The "snake" in the documentary film "The Snake and the Whale" is the Snake River. The "whale" of the title refers to the Southern Resident killer whales, a pod of orcas unique to the Pacific Northwest. The "whales" in the film may also be the powerful political and special interest groups working to keep four lower Snake River dams in place. For decades, biologists have pointed to the dams in eastern Washington as the primary cause for the critical status of salmon.

Scott Levy of Ketchum is an executive producer on the film, which premiered at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival in early 2025. Levy previously directed the 1996 independent film "RedFish BlueFish," which also tackled existential questions about the effect of dams on wild salmon populations.

Levy will be on hand at the Liberty Theater in Hailey on Saturday for a 7 p.m. screening of "The Snake and the Whale," rated PG-13. He will participate in a question and answer session after the film. Tickets are $10. Visit libertytheaterhailey.com/events/snake-and-the-whale.

The filmmakers describe "The Snake and the Whale" as an investigative documentary, and while its storytelling has a journalistic sensibility, the film wears its heart on its sleeve nearly from the beginning.

With beautifully shot footage and interviews with people advocating to save the whales and the salmon that feed them, along with archival footage and historic photographs, the film makes clear that what's at stake is the survival of both.

The whales' tale intertwines with that of the Chinook salmon, the primary food source of the Southern Residents. To reach the Pacific Ocean, the fish navigate a deadly gauntlet of dams on rivers in Eastern Washington and Oregon. Like the Southern Residents, Chinook salmon are listed as endangered or threatened by the federal government.

Levy said that the event is timed to coincide with this year's Earth Hour, a global event describing itself as an invitation to "switch off and spend 60 minutes doing something -- anything -- positive for our planet."

Related Pages:
SiciliAmbiente Film Festival: 'The Snake and the Whale': The Souls of Land and Ocean by Valerio Fidanza, TaxiDrivers.IT, 7/17/25
Films Across the Festival Circuit that Question the Anthropocene by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi, Cinema Daily US, 8/2/25
The Snake and the Whale Reminds Us What We Owe One Another by Stephanie Buckley, Ocean City Film Festival, 3/11/26
ISU Bengal Theater Hosts Documentary Exploring How Snake River Dams Imperil Salmon, Orcas by Taylor Calder, Idaho State Journal, 3/20/26
The Snake and the Whale Examines Attempts to Silence Dam Opponents by Karen Bossick, Eye On Sun Valley, 3/27/26