Beaches of Shish

Synopsis

Kenny is 15, a member of the indigenous Iñupiat community. He lives with his family in Shishmaref, a small city on Sarichef Island off the Alaskan coast. Rising temperatures are melting the pack ice and thawing the permafrost. The island is sinking into the sea with alarming speed. While his father Timothy dreams of fleeing the dismal situation, Kenny silently resists the loss of his homeland. He holds tight to the things that give him security – the hunt, traditional dances, hanging out with his mates, love. When his girlfriend becomes pregnant and his father is diagnosed with cancer, both father and son experience a shift in the way they view the future and their responsibility to each other. With great empathy, director Joanna Karlberg compacts her long-term observational study of the devastating consequences of climate change into an intimate chamber play.

"Beaches of Shish" poses the question of what holds a family together when the world around us is disappearing.

Production Facts

Director: Joanna Karlberg
Producer: Cecilia Nessen

Produced by B-Reel Films in co-production with Film i Väst, and with support of the Swedish Film Institute, Filmbasen, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and Yle. Post-production by Tint.

World premiere on November 5, 2026, at the Nordische Filmtage.