Priscilla Hensley is a writer and a documentarian. Before she started working on documentaries, her job history was varied — she had worked in communications and, having made a few short films herself, had some prior knowledge of filmmaking. There was also a period of time when she considered herself a poet. All these jobs have helped her to become a jack-of-all-trades. Her time in communications has helped a lot with her documentary work because so much of filmmaking is about logistics and making things happen. Her poetry has helped with her screenwriting. She says that the most important thing she’s learned about screenwriting is to start. Just put the story on paper. You don’t need to have great spelling, you can drop words, and you don’t need to storyboard everything. Just start writing. And then, later, you can worry about editing and rewriting.
Priscilla grew up recognizing and honoring her Inupiaq heritage. Her dad, William Hensley, is a key figure in Alaska Native land rights. He’s known for his role in the creation of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. As a result of the act, Alaska Natives retained 44 million acres of land and about 1 billion dollars to settle Indigenous land claims in Alaska. Growing up around all of this is a big reason she pursues telling the stories that she does. The first documentary she worked on, for example, was “We Up,” a film about Indigenous hip hop of the circumpolar North. It was produced by the Anchorage Museum. In addition to it being a family affair — her husband also worked on the film and their children tagged along — it introduced her to the power of filmmaking.
Priscilla has tattoos that commemorate her roots and her heritage. She gets them with her cousin every time she goes back to Alaska. The most recent one is on her hand, so she sees it when she’s writing or operating a camera. She says that she loves seeing her tattoos when she works because they’re a visual reminder of who she is, how she wants the world to see her, and her responsibility to being true to herself, her family and her community.
EP 152 Exonerating Alaskans with Jory Knott
EP 151 Things can get better with Heidi Huppert
EP 150 Furniture, basketball and family with Buddy Bailey
EP 149 Human trafficking in Alaska and decolonizing data with Josie Heyano
Chatter Marks EP 83 Moving home, revitalizing a language and the magic of radio with Shyanne Beatty
Chatter Marks EP 82 A chip on my shoulder with Mario Chalmers
EP 148 Skating Anchorage in the ‘90s with Anthony Black and Jerry Smyth
EP 147 For the glory and the story with IG
Chatter Marks EP 81 Life lessons from fish camp with Angela Gonzalez
EP 146 Searching for understanding and forgiveness with Robert Stark
EP 145 There is no excuse with Andrew Kurka
EP 144 Deconstructing the myth of The Last Frontier with Kaitlin Armstrong
EP 143 A Christmas they’ll never forget
EP 142 The history of slime with Christopher Michlig
EP 141 What we’ve been through is not who we are now with Travante Williams
EP 140 From middle school teacher to pro wrestler with Freya the Slaya
EP 139 Embracing the variance of poker with Adam Hendrix
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 73 Futures thinking, perseverance and climate change with Kristin Alford of the Museum of Discovery at the University of South Australia
EP 138 What happens to Alaska when oil is no longer economically viable for the economy of the state?
Museums in a Climate of Change: Chatter Marks EP 72 Creating sustainable exhibitions with Lizzy Bakker of NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam
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