The title of this blog can be taken in two ways: 1) Those of us who live in Toronto are living downstream from industries that are releasing chemicals into our environment; or 2) My film, Living Downstream will be screening in Toronto.
Both interpretations are correct.
I have a button that I bought years ago. It says, very simply, We all live downstream. And that is true. Some of us have a greater level of exposure to toxins in the environment than others: those who are occupationally exposed to synthetic chemicals, those who live close to factories, farm fields or toxic waste sites, those who live in cities with high levels of air pollution or eat fish from the Great Lakes. And then some of us are more vulnerable to toxic assaults than others: children, fetuses, the elderly, people with various genetic vulnerabilities or compromised immune systems, and those with previous toxic exposures.
So, yes, those of us who live in Toronto are living downstream – and some of us more than others. So for that reason, I think that my film, Living Downstream, contains information that is of use and interest to those in our city.
Based on the acclaimed book by ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D., Living Downstream is an eloquent and cinematic feature-length documentary. This poetic film follows Sandra during one pivotal year as she travels across North America, working to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links.
But after a routine cancer screening, Sandra receives some worrying results and is thrust into a period of medical uncertainty. Thus, we begin two journeys with Sandra: her private struggles with cancer and her public quest to bring attention to the urgent human rights issue of cancer prevention.
And this brings me to the second interpretation of the title… Next week, there will be an opportunity for those in the GTA to see the film at its Canadian Premiere: Tuesday May 18th at 7:30 pm at the Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. West, Toronto. Both Sandra and I will be present for a Q&A and Sandra will be on hand to sign copies of the second edition of the book afterward.
I’m really excited about this screening. I used to work at Primitive Entertainment, a well-respected independent documentary production company here in Toronto. Primitive is located within steps of the Bloor Cinema. I would walk by the theatre several times a day. I attended many screenings of the films that I worked on for Primitive at the Bloor. Being surrounded by a large and engaged audience in the darkness, with a huge image projected up on the screen was always a thrilling experience. But this will be the first time that I am watching one of my films up in that context. It’s nerve-wracking.
In the past month, I’ve attended several screenings of Living Downstream – all south of the border. They have all gone quite well. The world premiere in Ithaca, NY was sold out. People actually had to be turned away. The preview screening in Montana got a standing ovation. After the Boston screening, I was flooded with emails from people wanting to hold their own screenings, or to find out how they might order the DVD. The DC screening was attended by many people who are working for chemical policy reform in the US, including Senator John Kerry and Teresa Heinz.
The film has also gotten a lot of good reviews. The Washington Post said that it was “Handsomely photographed and powerfully argued… an arresting portrait” CineSource Magazine said that it was “an absolute must-see”, and The Missoulian said “the film is at times intimate, at other times shocking, and occasionally tragically humorous.”
So, we have a good track record.
And yet, this screening is happening in my hometown. Because I live and work in Toronto, I have higher expectations for a screening here. And more at stake if it doesn’t go well. The event itself feels a bit like a wedding. I want my family and friends to be there. I want to look nice. I want everyone to have a good time, and I want to be able to enjoy the evening myself. I don’t want to forget to thank anyone (and there will be lots of people to thank).
But at the same time, the Canadian Premiere of Living Downstream feels a lot different from a wedding. A wedding is the result of usually about one year of work. This screening is for a film that has taken up the last four years of my life. At my wedding, I was counting on my friends and my family to make up the guest list. But at this screening, I am counting on my friends and my family, but also on my co-workers’ friends and families. I am counting on my publicist and the film reviewers I have never met before. And on hundreds of people whom I don’t know, who will hear about the film and – hopefully – decide to come to the screening.
I’m not planning on going on a honeymoon after the screening. I’m not going to be carried over any thresholds or drive away in a car trailed by tin cans. But hopefully I will get to share this film with many people; celebrate its release with friends, family and strangers too; and inspire the audience to think about the ways in which we all live downstream.
Chanda Chevannes is an award-winning producer/director with The People’s Picture Company. Her most recent film, Living Downstream, is having its Canadian Premiere at Toronto’s Bloor Cinema on Tuesday May 18 at 7:30pm. The screening is co-presented by Planet in Focus and Women’s Healthy Environments Network. Chanda and the film’s main subject, Sandra Steingraber Ph.D., will both be in attendance to answer questions. Book City will also be hosting a book signing of the second edition of Living Downstream, which was released last month, and features all the newest science about cancer and its environmental roots.
For more information about the screening, and how to buy tickets, please visit: http://www.livingdownstream.com/toronto_screening.php
To purchase tickets online please visit http://ca.brownpapertickets.com/event/109106
Read up on the program in NOW magazine http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=174946
