Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake Killer
1999
24 min
Coming soon
This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
Details
This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
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directorTeresa MarshallCraig Berggold
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producerGeorge Johnson
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executive producerSvend-Erik Eriksen
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scriptTeresa MarshallCraig BerggoldMargo Harper
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cinematographyCraig BerggoldGlen Winter
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soundVelcrow RipperDieter Piltz
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editingHeather FriseIleana Pietrobruno
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sound mixSharpe Sound Studios Inc.
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narratorTeresa Marshall
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music engineerCy Garber
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musicEllen McIlwaine
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participationCarleton MacNaughtonMichael Sarell
Education
Ages 12 to 18
Study Guide - Guide 1
Geography - Environmental Issues
Science - Biology
Science - Environmental Science
Social Studies - Environmental Challenges
Warnings: Some disturbing images: a box of dead birds, roadkill, snake swallowing a mouse.
This documentary explores the northern desert in British Columbia known as the Pocket Desert. This unique ecosystem has struggled under pressures from human development in agriculture, ranching, road expansions and urbanization. Species like the rattlesnake have suffered the most. Students will learn interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the region and how some people have changed from being snake killers to naturalists who do animal rescues. There is potential for further research after watching this film, and the class could debate the right to kill animals that are considered dangerous to humans. What is the history of Indigenous Peoples in this desert?
