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Hello All,
The countdown is on for Planet in Focus 2005. The festival is just weeks away and we have a terrific lineup of films from around the world starting with our opening night gala screening of The Real Dirt on Farmer John. The award-winning film is having its Canadian premiere at PIF on Wednesday, September 28 at the Royal Cinema on College St. at 6:30pm. We expect that all of you will make it — even Farmer John, the epic hero of the film, will be in attendance.
The PIF office has also been busy organizing more than the scheduled films: Planet in Focus will see the return of our Eco Fair, an Organic Pancake Brunch, Industry Round Tables and our Schools Programme, plus exciting new Children's Animation Workshops at the National Film Board. We also have three remarkable panels which are free to the public. Global Garbage will follow the screening of the director's cut of Shipbreakers and will be moderated by our honourary patron Dr. David Suzuki. The Post Oil World: Have We Thought Through Our Solutions? follows a series of controversial films dealing with global warming, wind power, and contentious approaches to solving our energy problems; this panel will include Janet Sumner, Executive Director of the Wildlands League, two participating filmmakers as well as Dr. Fergal Nolan, President of the Radiation Institute. The third panel, sure to generate huge audience interest, is on The Ethics of Wildlife Filmmaking. What really goes on behind the scenes of wildlife filmmaking and how do filmmakers deal with the subject matter in front of their lenses to get their incredible footage and their stories? Michael Allder, Executive Producer of the Nature of Things will moderate this lively and exceptional discussion. Don't miss out.
I have many more tales to tell about my trip to the Ecocine Festival in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil and the behind-the-scenes work of our staff, interns, volunteers and Board Members. But as I look at the task at hand, my attention is focused on making sure that we will make PIF 2005 the most exciting place to be September 28 to October 2. So check out our new website for the full schedule of films and events, purchase your tickets and tell your friends how they can get The Real Dirt On Farmer John!
- Candida Paltiel, Festival Director
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