Making Waves: Battle for the Great Lakes

About the Film

The feature-length documentary, Making Waves: Battle for the Great Lakes, takes viewers below the surface of the worldʼs largest freshwater ecosystem and into the middle of a complex war for survival.

For more than a century, non-native species of plants, fish, invertebrates and microscopic organisms have been silently invading the Great Lakes, leaving devastation in their wake.

These invasive species are transforming the ecosystem from top to bottom, pushing some native species to the brink of extinction, and costing the region hundreds of millions of dollars in control costs and lost revenue each year. With more than 180 invasive species in the Great Lakes watershed, and new invasives on the radar, the future of the Great Lakes is at stake.

Narrated by Bill Kurtis, Making Waves traces the path of the invasion and joins researchers on the front lines as they combat invasive species and work to restore native species, in an effort to prevent a biological takeover of the Great Lakes.

Great Lakes connection:

Filmed almost entirely in the Great Lakes region, the documentary is about the effects of invasive species in the Great Lakes and the efforts of researchers in the region to control and prevent them. The filmmakers were also born, raised, and still live in the Chicago area.

Cast & Crew:

Director: Jessica and Brendan Walsh
Writers: Jessica and Brendan Walsh
Producers: Jessica Walsh
Narrator: Bill Kurtis
Director of Photography: Brendan Walsh
Original Score: Gabriel Jaskowiak

Director Bio:

Jessica and Brendan Walsh are co-owners of Great Lakes Media, a video production company based in the Chicago area since 2006.

Brendan is also a freelance camera operator, which has taken him filming around the world and filming for television shows on CNBC, A&E, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and History Channel.

Before producing full time for Great Lakes Media, Jessica was a print journalist and editor.

Making Waves is the husband-and-wife team’s first documentary.

Director Statement:

Invasive species is one of the biggest threats facing the Great Lakes today. Our main goal with the film is to open people’s eyes to the problem and help make it real for them, hopefully inspiring them to do what they can to help prevent the spread or introduction of invasive species in the Great Lakes Region and beyond.

Prevention is key to fighting invasive species, and education and public awareness are the first step in that battle. We aim to engage the public and start the conversation again in a new way, through Making Waves.

Screenings/Awards:

2017 Freep Film Festival
Official Selection
Detroit, MI, United States
April 2, 2017

2017 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
Official Selection
Oct. 2017
New York, NY, United States
New York Premiere

2017 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
Oct. 4-8, 2017
Official Selection
Chagrin Falls, OH, United States
Ohio Premiere