Eastern Europe is an underrated fly-fishing destination, particuarly for those of us here in the U.S. And it’s home to some truly amazing trout, ranging from native brown trout, introduced rainbows and the marble trout, which is the featured fish in the new film, “Hang Tight,” by Brothers on the Fly.
Shot in Slovenia’s beautiful backcountry, the film is one of the few fly-fishing films that actually tells a story, as morbid as it might be. It gets away from the formulaic approach that can be seen in most fly-fishing films and tries, successfully, to chronicle the frustrations of an angler in pursuit of a marble trout, to no avail. And it ends with some dramam, tongue-in-cheek though it may be.
Give it a watch. I wish more fly-fishing filmmakers would endeavor to be better storytellers and not just purvayors of the oft-seen “hero shot.” “Hang Tight” is a good start. Let’s see if it inspires others to be a little more creative in their approach to filming our craft.
— Chris Hunt