Swiftwater is a documentary production company telling stories about the natural world. Our feature-length and short films have focused on water, river conservation, salmon recovery and environmental justice in the American West. We were founded after winning the RFP to produce the feature-length film following the removal of four dams on Northern California and Southern Oregon's Klamath River, a project launched in 2020 and currently in production. Since that time our team has filmed with tribes, scientists, ranchers, fishermen and conservationists in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and Alaska to tell stories highlighting how science and indigenous perspectives are reshaping land, water and resource management in the era of climate change. We have long-standing relationships with the communities we work with, and have partnerships with conservation organizations to help turn storytelling into policy change. Our team is specialized in verite cinematography, underwater filming, drone piloting and timelapse.
Shane Anderson
Principle Director / Producer
Shane Anderson is an Emmy-winning documentary director and producer focusing on natural history, environmental justice, river restoration, and salmon recovery in the American West. Since 2012, he has directed seven feature documentaries including A Rivers Last Chance, Chehalis: A Watershed Moment, The Lost Salmon, and Covenant Of The Salmon People. His short films include Guardians of the River, which received the EarthXImpact Award; and Bring the Salmon Home, a 2022 Jackson Media Award finalist. He partners with conservation organizations to leverage films into impact. His work has supported the protection of wild salmon in Washington State, forestry laws in Oregon, the advancement of a new Endangered Species Act listing, and river restoration efforts through the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Shane specializes in underwater cinematography and drone operation. His coverage of dam removal and industrial scale restoration projects have been featured in BBC’s Planet Earth and Our Changing Planet, and the Netflix series Earthscape. Shane brings a background in fisheries biology, and previously to working in documentary was a professional skier and a Hollywood stuntman.
Maya Craig
Director of Photography / Producer
Maya Craig is a documentary filmmaker and freelance director of photography based in San Francisco. She has been shooting with Swiftwater since 2020 across a number of projects including Guardians of the River, The Lost Salmon, Covenant, and Bring the Salmon Home, which was a finalist for the 2022 Jackson Media Awards. She has been a National Geographic Explorer since 2019, looking at the global climate and geopolitical impacts of a warming Arctic, a journey that has brought her to Alaska, Svalbard, Iceland, and across Europe to film with scientists, policymakers, and indigenous communities. She is also a DP and co-producer on feature documentary Laikipia, about conservation and pastoralism in Northern Kenya, which has been supported by Threshold Foundation, Doc Society, Sundance, and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Her first documentary Water Town, about a water privatization conflict in Northern California, was broadcast nationally on PBS and helped lead to the City of Weed, CA securing its water rights after a five year legal battle. Maya is a fellow at London's Royal Geographical Society, and holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and a Master’s in Documentary Film from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Jessie Sears
Production Coordinator
Jessie is an enrolled Karuk tribal member and is in pursuit of connecting with her indigenous roots and giving back to the community. She is passionate about environmental justice and is driven to leverage compassion through film. Since earning her communications degree from Portland State in 2016, Jessie has worked as a camera operator, camera assistant, media manager, production coordinator, and assistant director and producer.
Jason Hartwick
Photographer / Timelapse
Jason is a photographer, timelapse specialist and fishing guide based out of Humboldt County. A native to Northern California, Jason grew up camping, fishing, and exploring the outdoors, where he started taking photographs to document the old growth redwoods and last remaining wild salmon and steelhead. As a fishing guide for more than a decade, Jason is our trusted boat captain when we’re filming out on the river.
