After all five short films were screened, and question-and-answer sessions were held with the audience, The Sunset Project awarded the top prize to “Toxic Art” filmmakers Jason Whalen and Chris Zuker of Fauna Creative.

The film competition, organized by The Sunset Project, was part of the Thunder Bay International Film Festival. The screenings and awards were held Saturday night at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, the hub of the film festival.

“Toxic Art” tells the story of how iron oxide pollution in Sunday Creek in Southeastern Ohio led to the development of a solution that utilizes the iron oxide to make a beautiful purple shade of paint to be packaged and sold, with the profits paying for the cleanup of that creek.

“We were approached by an organization called Rivers are Life who tell stories all around the world about different watersheds — good things happening, river cleanups, habitat restoration, you name it,” said Zuker, of Lansing. “They approached us with this story, which made our job easy. With a story like that, it, kind of, told itself. We went in there and captured it in our style, in our unique way, and it turned out to be one of our favorite projects that we’ve worked on in the past couple of years.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Filmmakers and organizers gather for a photo at the Sanctuary Selections film competition Saturday evening at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival in Alpena. Pictured, from left, are Nick Poli, Joseph Beyer, Jordan Anderson, Jason Whalen, Chris Zuker, Mario Cassem, Charlie Klipp, Hannah Tracey, Nick Lusardi, Eden Sabolboro, Gavin MacDonald, and Stephanie Gandulla. The event was held in partnership with The Sunset Project.

“We own Fauna Creative, a small production company, and we’ve been working together for five, going on six years,” said Whalen, of Grand Rapids. “And, before that, we worked together at a different company for another four years. So, we have a good chemistry of working together and knowing how to tell our stories, and how to package them. This is, sort of, the culmination of close to a decade’s worth of work, and, like Chris said, this is one of our favorite pieces we’ve created, to date.”

The pair was excited to be a part of the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, and they were honored to win the Sanctuary Selections top prize.

“It’s incredibly validating just to be included in the top five, when you’re talking about 70 film submissions … and to be given the honor of the best in show,” Whalen said. “You just are humbled and validated that people like your work. Often, we work in our own silos, and you don’t get to share the work in a personal capacity like at a festival like this, so to be able to be in a room and share the story with everyone, and then, to be awarded with a prize, it’s humbling, and makes you feel like all the hard work is worth it.”

Whalen was impressed with the other four films, and enjoyed the camaraderie with his peers at the festival.

“The other four films of the night were beautiful and diverse in content and style,” he said. “It was just a beautiful arrangement of films, and just to be part of it is an honor in itself.”

News Photo by Darby Hinkley “Toxic Art” filmmakers Chris Zuker and Jason Whalen react with smiles as they receive a large $5,000 check for winning the Sanctuary Selections film competition.

Zuker noted that they will continue working on environmental films.

“More work in the conservation realm,” he said when asked what’s next on their agenda. “Telling the stories that we like to tell. Our niche is conservation and environmental storytelling, so we’re just going to keep telling those stories and try to keep pushing our craft.”

They enjoy coming to the film festival in Alpena.

“The goal is really to just make more awesome stuff and get it into these environments where you can come and see the response, in person,” Zuker said. “It’s really cool to try and make it to these festivals. This is one we’re always going to try and make it back to. We’ve been here a few times, and it’s always been a pleasure to be here.”

The Sunset Project awarded each of the four other filmmakers with $250 during the award ceremony as well.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Audience members raise their hands during a question-and-answer session with filmmakers Chris Zuker and Jason Whalen after the screening of their film, “Toxic Art.”