As all well know, I’m a sucker for good fish porn. But, there’s a difference between the so called fish porn, and what Felt Soul Media is producing these days. They have completely raised the bar by creating compelling content, great talent, and excellent music to accompany each piece they produce.

I was fortunate enough to receive a preview copy of the full version of Eastern Rises directly from Felt Soul. It came as a burned DVD with hand written notes “Eastern Rises – Preview – Do Not Copy”. Yes, the excitement set in as I knew I was going to be one of the first people to view the entire film.

As I threw it in my player, at first glance, it read:

If you come to a strange land

Bow Down

If this place is outlandish

Bow Down

If the day is all strangeness

Submit

You are  indefinitely more strange

The movie progresses as if to down play the wildness of Alaska (though the ‘no pebble’ sticker is still attached to their boats), but that is not the point. The point is to show that no one else has dared to reach this place they call the Kamchatka in Eastern Russia – rich with huge Rainbow Trout and ginormous brown bears. As they reach points on the peninsula via decommissioned cold war helicopters, the trout rivers they find are by far some of the most pristine in the world.

Rich with deep history, the film shows the journey through Russia to reach this amazing fishery. Frank Smeatherst could be called the focal point of this expedition, as he catches his first wild Kamchatka rainbow, and then reveals his expected first child back at home in Colorado. It’s almost teary how he says this may be the time to calm down and that this may be his last (for a while) great adventure.

This film follows in the footsteps of one of the greatest documentaries I’ve seen, Red Gold -though this is a different insight into the great unknown of wild Russia. It’s poised as a classic Felt Soul production, with a great soundtrack and beautiful scenery. No one does it better than Felt Soul.

Thanks again to Ben Knight and Travis Rummel at Felt Soul