gloria pancrazi
filmmaker, artist and activist
"With a fiery heart, she intertwines storytelling, community action and healing to meaningfully contribute to environmental and social justice on the Pacific Northwest coast."
Gloria fell in love with orcas when she was four years old. Like a compass in her life, they led her to the Pacific Northwest where she began working to protect the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas.
Her first film, Coextinction, unearths the crisis the Southern Resident Orcas are facing, tying it to ongoing colonial systems. "A shot straight to the heart," Coextinction received multiple awards, including the Rob Stewart Eco Warrior Award and People’s Choice and was nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards.
Gloria has spent 500+ hours monitoring the critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, Northern Resident orcas, humpback whales and other marine life with organizations like OrcaLab and Cetus Research & Conservation Society.
She has spearheaded campaigns like the March 4 The Dams, a 320km walk from Portland to the Snake River Dams to bring national attention to the controversial dams pushing orcas and salmon to extinction, violating Tribal Treaty rights, and contributing to the climate crisis.
With a fiery heart, she intertwines storytelling and community action to meaningfully contribute to environmental and social justice. Her work particularly focuses on amplifying Indigenous voices, healing, and protecting the Pacific Northwest coast and all its beings.
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