“Tide and Table” is a documentary by New Jersey-based company Two Doors Down Productions. It features the unique community and food of Petersburg, and locals will get a first look at it this weekend.
Originally, Two Doors Down only meant to create a short video about professional chef Alisa Jestel, who cooks aboard the charter vessel Dauntless.
“Ingredients are inspiring to me,” Jestel said in the documentary’s trailer. “I believe you get as fresh and high quality as you can, and you try not to mess them up.”
Maria Irvin, a production manager and associate producer for the film, said when the crew came to Petersburg in May, they realized they were onto an even bigger story.
“Pretty quickly, we realized we’ll have to come back,” she told KFSK. “There was just so many great stories that we felt we could tie together to really capture this beautiful community.”
Irvin said the film crew returned in September to talk to residents and capture the broader Petersburg community. Those conversations would become “Tide and Table.”
The title of the documentary is based on the saying, “When the tide is out, the table is set.”
“The saying comes from the Tlingits, from 10,000 years ago. It’s all tied to the tides,” said Petersburg resident Mike Schwartz in the trailer.
Director Brian Bill said he heard the phrase while interviewing locals for the story. He said the title captures the food-focus of the film, which shows both Jestel’s cooking and the bounty of foods available in Southeast Alaska.
The crew is returning to town this week for three test screenings at the local movie theater. Bill said the production crew did not interview any Tlingit people during their previous visits to Petersburg, but they plan to do so during their stay for the screenings. He said a Tlingit perspective will be added to the documentary.
“It’s the Norwegians, and it’s the Tlingits as well. It’s a community, and both reside in that community,” Bill said. “I think it’s really important that all sides of the story need to be told – or heard.”
While Jestel’s food is a central aspect of the film, Bill said the documentary also reflects a type of connection that has disappeared in other places. He said that connection is part of what makes Petersburg special.
“It’s a story about a tight-knit community that used to exist everywhere, in every state, in every county, in every town, and you really don’t see this type of community much of anywhere anymore,” Bill said. “That was really what drew me in.”
There will be three screenings of “Tide and Table” in Petersburg this weekend, and Bill said the community will be the film’s first test audience. He said it’s important to him to have the community’s feedback.
“I wanted to make sure before I went anywhere with a story, that it would be approved, accepted by the community of Petersburg,” he said.
After the screening, QR codes will be available for attendees to give their input. Bill said they’ll modify the documentary based on community input.
Tickets for the screenings are free, and can be picked up at Lee’s Clothing, but attendees are encouraged to make donations to Petersburg’s only movie theater, the Northern Nights Theater. The theater has been financially struggling with high costs.
Two Doors Down will also be donating $3,000 to the theater, and Bill says they’ll continue to fundraise for the theater at future showings in the Lower 48.
After Petersburg, Bill said the documentary will be hitting the film festival circuit in 2026 and 2027. He said they intend to bring it to as many screenings and festivals as they can.
“Tide and Table” will be showing at the Northern Nights Theater on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Friday showing will have a Q&A with the filmmakers and the cast after the show.
