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Value-driven video production.

Based in the heart of Vancouver Island.

Our story

We started Salmonberry Studios to bring high-quality video production services to clients doing important work. We want to see our clients succeed, and everything we do from the strategy to the final cut is in service of them.

We’re based in the heart of Vancouver Island. Most of our work happens here and along the BC coast, with projects in the Interior and south into Washington. We work with First Nations, non-profits, and aligned companies to tell important stories through film.

We run a small dedicated team to ensure each project gets the care it deserves. We put craft above growth to make stunning work that gets our clients results.

The real work happens before the camera rolls. We listen. We spend time understanding the people and the issues. Strategy is core to our process.

What we do

Our stack, which together creates results

Strategy and alignment

We start with what you need the film to do and who it is for, then build the story from there. The film is one part of a larger plan, and we help you shape that plan.

Distribution and reach

A plan and the channels to get the film seen by the right people, and a lot of them. Cut-downs for every place it will live, and a release that is planned, not hoped for.

Film production

Documentary and client films, shot and finished in house. Cinema cameras, drone, a small crew that knows how to work quietly on the land and in community.

How we work

From the first conversation to the people who see it

  1. 01

    Listen

    We spend time with the people and the issue before we plan a single shot.

  2. 02

    Shape

    We work out what the film needs to do and who it is for, and build the story around that.

  3. 03

    Film

    A small crew, on the land and in community, filming with care and permission.

  4. 04

    Help it travel

    We cut versions for each place the film will live and plan how it reaches people.

People

A small crew, on purpose

Benjamin Hazel smiling at sunrise, holding a cinema camera with a boom arm and wearing headphones
Benjamin HazelFounder and directorBenjamin Hazel founded Salmonberry Studios in 2021, to bring beautiful and impactful filmmaking to the organizations doing the most important work. The studio was formerly known as Olam Films.benjaminhazel.comHis camera work also includes The Reluctant Radical, Israelism and Where Olive Trees Weep.

Port Alberni, Vancouver Island

A mill town at the head of the Alberni Inlet. It’s where we live, and a lot of what we film is within a few hours’ drive. We travel for the right story.

We live on the unceded traditional territories of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.

Map of British Columbia and Washington, with a dot for each place we’ve filmed
  • Quatsino territory: Quatsino Watershed Guardians
  • Salt Spring Island: Xwaaqw’um Restoration Film
  • Ts’il Kaz Koh territory: Ts’il Kaz Koh Watersheds Film
  • Upper Skeena: Indigenous Watersheds Initiative
  • Upper Fraser: Upper Fraser Water Monitoring
  • Hesquiaht territory: Hesquiaht Creek Restoration
  • Rivers Inlet: Wuikinuxv Nation Marine Protection
  • Bella Bella: Heiltsuk Nation Marine Protection
  • Bella Coola: Nuxalk Nation Marine Protection
  • Klemtu: Kitasoo Xai’xais Marine Protection
  • Logan Lake: Logan Lake Community Forest
  • Burns Lake: Burns Lake Community Forest
  • Sunshine Coast: Sunshine Coast Community Forest
  • Greenwood: West Boundary Community Forest
  • Creston: Creston Community Forest
  • Southside, Francois Lake: Chinook Community Forest
  • Cheslatta territory: Cheslatta First Nation
  • Revelstoke: Revelstoke Community Forest
  • Mount Currie: Lil’wat First Nation Forestry
  • Oliver: Osoyoos Indian Band Forestry
  • Alert Bay: ’Namgis First Nation Forestry
  • West Kelowna: Westbank First Nation Forestry
  • Okanagan Falls: Mercer Mass Timber Value-Added Forest Products
  • Chemainus: RAS Value-Added Forest Products
  • Richmond: Richply Value-Added Forest Products
  • Upper Chilcotin River: Tŝilhqot’in Watershed Monitoring
  • Chilko Lake: Tŝilhqot’in Fisheries
  • Farwell Canyon: Tŝilhqot’in National Government
  • Prince George: Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance
  • Barkley Sound: Barkley Sound Salmon Roundtable
  • Alberni Inlet: Alberni Inlet Ghost Gear Removals
  • Bamfield: Abandoned Aquaculture Site Removal Film
  • Hitacu, Ucluelet Inlet: Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Derelict Vessel Removal Film
  • Opitsaht, Meares Island: Opitsaht Derelict Vessel Removal Film
  • Tla-o-qui-aht territory: Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Documentary
  • Ahousaht, Flores Island: Ahousaht Environmental Restoration Film
  • Nootka Sound: Mowachaht/Muchalaht Ghost Gear Film
  • Esperanza Inlet: Ehattesaht Ghost Gear Film
  • Sooke: T’Sou-ke First Nation Marine Team Film
  • Sooke Basin: T’Sou-ke Ghost Gear Film
  • Saanichton: Tsawout First Nation European Green Crab Film
  • Cheam, Fraser Valley: Cheam First Nation Flood Restoration
  • Hope: Chawathil First Nation Flood Restoration
  • Lytton: Lytton First Nation Water Quality Film
  • Merritt: Nicola Valley Flood Restoration Film
  • Stillaguamish watershed, Washington: Stillaguamish River Restoration Film
  • Portland, Oregon: Eco-School Network Film
  • Mount Hood, Oregon: Mountain Shop Mount Hood Documentary
  • Mount Adams, Washington: Mountain Shop Mount Adams Film
  • Seattle, Washington: The Journey of Compassion Documentary
  • Vancouver: Environmental Youth Alliance Film
  • Cortes Island: Cortes Island Children’s Forest Film
  • Duncan: Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group Shoot
  • Campbell River: Campbell River Recreation Shoot
  • Comox Valley: The Private Forest Documentary

Start a project

Tell us about the story, the people involved and what you need the film to do.

Get in touch