UNC-Greensboro filmmaker Matt Barr spent seven years documenting life in the quaint North Carolina fishing village of Sneads Ferry.
But what started out as a project to show the town's traditional way of life and work changed in 2003, when local fishermen began to struggle against a "farmed shrimp" market and real estate developers pushed housing costs and property taxes through the roof.
Barr's film, "Wild Caught: The Life and Struggles of an American Fishing Town," tells the stories of local fisherman who went from being able to provide for their families to being one step away from financial disaster. In an updated version of the film, which debuts tomorrow night on UNC-TV, Barr also follows the story of a crabber who must fight developers and zoning officials for the right to offload his catch on his family's own land.
