Finding Fontinalis

FINDING FONTINALIS

Co-presented by Rock/Creek and the Tennessee Aquarium

Beautiful scenery, controversial world records, determination and giveaways are what's in store for those of you who attend Finding Fontinalis.

Yes, we said giveaways. We'll be raffling off $1,000 worth of Patagonia gear, courtesy of the folks at Rock/Creek. But, let's get to the film.

In the summer of 1915, John William Cook caught a 14.5-pound brook trout from Ontario’s Nipigon River. But the world record was controversial: Some said Cook didn’t take the fish on the fly, some said it was one of Cook’s native guides who caught the fish, others even said it wasn’t even a brook trout.

But the record stood.

One hundred years later, three anglers—fueled by an old gaucho’s tale that told of “el lugar con el pescado rojo grande,” the place with the big red fish—descend upon the Chubut province of Argentina in search of giant brook trout that are no longer found in much of their native North American range because of habitat loss and degradation.

Photographer Bryan Gregson; Patagonia’s director of fishing Bart Bonime; and environmentalist, angler and founder of Patagonia Yvon Chouinard follow Agustin Fox, the owner of Las Pampas Lodge, into an uncharted watershed to chase down the rumors. On the journey, Fox shares his vision for more than a new world record: the protection of not only the fishery, but the land, water and culture that surround it.

Clay Raines, a reintroduction biologist for the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, will speak before the film about the Aquarium's role in helping restore Southern Appalachian Brook Trout, Tennessee's only native trout species, to their historic range in the Southeastern United States.

Saturday • April 8 • 10:30-11:50 a.m. • Theater 5

Director: Travis Lowe. 70 minutes