Free Falling is a fly fishing documentary about Baltic salmon in northern Sweden, shedding light on the drastic decline in salmon migration in the region’s wild rivers in recent years. It serves as a spiritual sequel to Home Rivers Recycled, a documentary released by the Undefined Flyfishing Project that celebrated the success of the Baltic salmon. That film told a classic comeback story—how the salmon, once on the brink of extinction, rebounded to inhabit the northern rivers so abundantly that the Torneälven was considered one of the most prolific Atlantic salmon river systems in the world.
Home Rivers Recycled ended with a pledge to revisit the story in 25 years. However, a mere 2.5 years later, the salmon populations in the Baltic Sea appear to be in free fall. This alarming decline accelerated the production of Free Falling—a testimony to what fly fishers along Sweden’s wild rivers are experiencing in 2024.
The film follows Emilie Björkman and Lars Munk through the 2024 season on Sweden’s northern salmon rivers as they live as free-roaming fly fishers. It also weaves in perspectives from conservationists and scientists working to understand what has happened and why.
This is not only a story about an urgent ecological crisis but also a glimpse into the lives of people whose existence is deeply intertwined with the salmon. One could argue that as they look into a future without wild salmon, they too are in a kind of free fall.
Free Falling is produced by the Undefined Flyfishing Project with support from Hooke, Loop, Patagonia, Vision Flyfishing, Costa del Mar, Ahrex Hooks, Nám Products, Sportfiskarna, the Baltic Salmon Fund, and Stiftelsen Vindelälvsfisket.
More on the project at UndefinedFlyfishingProject.com.
