Laura Seltzer calls it "my passion project" — a short documentary about the pier where she grew up, about the water she loves and the families who work it.The filmmaker from Newport News will present a sneak preview of "The Last Boat Out" on Saturday night at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News. She will screen it at a VIP event for members of the U.S. Congress next month, a week before it premieres on PBS on April 21.
"I grew up around the corner from the Deep Creek Pier, and I used to hang out there," said Seltzer, who wrote, produced and directed the film. "I was intrigued by the watermen, and when I started talking to people I found that they were really eager to talk about losing the pier. The project grew from there."
In particular, she worked with families from Poquoson and Gloucester, learning how the ecological changes in the Chesapeake Bay have affected their lives as commercial watermen.
As the harvests from the bay have diminished, many families have been forced out of the business, and those who stay have had to find new ways to do their jobs.
"This film is really about the health of the bay — the first sign of a dying bay is a dying industry," Seltzer said. "It was fascinating to learn about the process of oyster restoration, the way that the watermen have become farmers instead of hunters."
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