Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. Donate today and help bring Upstream to life.
 

Logline

At the edge of youth and adulthood, young men converge at a remote salmon conservation site along Alaska’s Taku River. Cut off from the outside world, they must rely on each other and the lessons of the salmon to confront turbulent pasts and come-of-age.

Synopsis

UPSTREAM follows a group of young men as they converge at a wild salmon conservation site on a remote island along Alaska’s Taku River. Cut off from the outside world, they spend six months tagging salmon to help sustain one of the last viable wild salmon fisheries on Earth. In this rugged environment, they begin to confront past traumas and form a makeshift family. Over the course of two conservation seasons, the island becomes both sanctuary and crucible–a place where healing feels possible. As the second season winds down, the illusion of escape dissolves, and each man must confront the reality waiting beyond the river’s edge. Leaving the island means facing unfinished lives, new responsibilities, and choices that can no longer be deferred. Rooted in the rhythmic work of conservation, Upstream is ultimately a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of climate change.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Natalie Berger – Director/Producer
Natalie Berger is a documentary filmmaker and photographer from the Pacific Northwest. She has directed and produced several short films, including THE GRACE (Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2025), which received a Vimeo Staff Pick. She was also the associate producer on the feature documentary film, MONK IN PIECES (Berlinale, 2025) and the short documentary film HIGH NOON ON THE WATERFRONT (Telluride, 2022). Additionally, her photography has been featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair. She is currently a freelance filmmaker and photographer in New York City.

Moira Fett – Co-Director
Moira Fett is a filmmaker living in Brooklyn, New York. Her work in both documentary and narrative storytelling seeks to uncover the contours of human behavior under environmental pressures. Most recently, she co-directed the short documentary film, THE GRACE (Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2025), which received a Vimeo Staff Pick. Her narrative short, PRACTICE (Florida Film Festival, 2020) and TWO BIRDS (Middlebury Film Festival, 2019). In 2018, Moira was awarded the Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center.

Martha Gregory – Producer
Martha is a Brooklyn-based independent film producer and educator. Producing credits include Adam Meeks’ UNION COUNTY starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance FIlm Festival, and Shaun Leonardo’s We Went Undefeated, a multichannel installation/film which opened at the Andrew Rafacz Gallery in 2024 and Cristin Tierney Gallery in 2025. Martha was an Executive Producer on Chloe Abraham’s THE TASTE OF MANGO (Oscilloscope, POV) which premiered at TRUE/FALSE 2023, Billy Luther’s FRYBREAD FACE & ME (ARRAY) which premiered at SXSW 2023 as well as Sierra Pettengil’s ARGONAUTS AT THE END OF HISTORY to premiere in 2026. Martha’s short doc, THREE RED SWEATERS, is a Vimeo Staff Pick and played at festivals around the world. She is the co-founder of UFO, a filmmaker support organization with programs at BAM and in the Catskills. She holds an MFA in film from Vermont College of Fine Arts and she has taught film at Kenyon College, Fashion Institute of Technology and School of Visual Art.

Sean Weiner – Producer
Sean Weiner is a producer, editor, and nonprofit arts leader based in the Hudson Valley. He has produced and edited award-winning films selected by Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, and acquired by Criterion, Searchlight, HBOMax, and NYT Op-Docs. He is a co-founder and co-director of the filmmaker support nonprofit, UFO. Previously, Sean was the Director of Programs and the founding Director of Creative Culture at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Recent credits include Adam Meeks’ UNION COUNTY starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo which premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival; Arielle Knight’s THE BOYS AND THE BEES which won the Short Jury Award for nonfiction at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival; Ash Goh Hua’s FULL MONTH 满月 which world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival; and César Martínez Barba’s MÁS Y MÁS Y MÁS FLORES which was nominated for an Emmy in 2025.

Logan O’Shea – Story Consultant
Logan O’Shea, a member of the Tlingit Tribe, is from Atlin, British Columbia and has worked for the Taku River Tlingit First Nation for almost a decade. He began his work on Canyon Island as a representative of his People at the age of 16 where he implemented his knowledge of the region, salmon migration along the Taku River, and conservation strategies. In 2021, he began his involvement in Upstream as a participant, and has since come on board the team in an official capacity as Story Consultant.

Make a donation to Upstream.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.