Nils​ ​has​ ​worked​ ​as​ ​a​ ​writer,​ ​producer​ ​and​ ​director​ ​for​ ​more​ ​than​ ​fifteen​ ​years.​ ​A​ ​native​ ​of Calgary,​ ​Canada,​ ​he​ ​directed​ ​his​ ​first​ ​documentary​ ​short,​ ​Gated​ ​Communities,​ ​about​ ​troubling mental​ ​health​ ​policies​ ​in 2000.​ ​He then​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​the​ ​thriving​ ​network documentary​ ​market​ ​of​ ​Washington,​ ​DC,​ ​where​ ​he​ ​wrote​ ​and produced​ ​series​ ​and​ ​specials​ ​for​ ​National​ ​Geographic,​ ​​PBS​ ​and​ ​BET.​ ​Ten years ago, ​he​ ​moved​ ​back​ ​west​ ​to​ ​the growing​ ​production​ ​scene​ ​in​ ​Seattle,​ ​focusing​ ​on​ ​natural​ ​history,​ ​science​ ​and​ ​current​ ​affairs.​ ​He has​ ​since​ ​written​ ​and​ ​produced​ ​several​ ​award-winning​ ​documentary films​ ​and​​ ​shorts​ ​about subjects​ ​ranging​ ​from​ ​drug​ ​policy​ ​reform​ ​to​ ​radio​ ​astronomy,​ ​and​ ​from​ ​reproductive​ ​justice​ ​to urban​ ​art.

What drew me to this story was the opportunity to document characters from very different backgrounds actively working through conservation challenges over a long period of time and forming an emotional bond with the fish species they are trying to save.