2004 Film Festival

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2004

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

OISE Auditorium
252 Bloor Street West

Pre-Festival Launch Event

• Dr. Helen Caldicott
  Envisioning Peace & Security

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Royal Cinema
608 College Street

Opening Night Gala

• Mini Cine Tupy
• Sin Embargo

9:00 pm - 12:00 am

• Opening Night Party

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2004

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Children of the Storm

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• At the First Breath of Wind

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2004

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Being Caribou

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Dans le jardin du Monde

FRIDAY OCTOBER 1, 2004

9:30 am – 11:30 am

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Elementary Schools Programme

• Vultures: The Flying Dustbins

2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Summer of Discovery
• Yuri Vella's World

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Re-creating Eden
• Seeds of Change

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Waste Land

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Still, the Children are Here

SATURDAY OCTOBER 2, 2004

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Organic Pancake Brunch

10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Eco Fair

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Children's Programme

• Termites
• The Great Ball Game
• A Day with the Earth
• Chris McKhool's Earth, Seas and Air Concert

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• In God's Own Country
• Alternative Agriculture: Food for Life

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave.

• The Future is Wild - Ice World

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Termites
• Cockroach Cocktail

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• Wake Up Call
• Wildlife Warriors - Allies of Nature

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Vultures: The Flying Dustbins

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Av

• Thirst

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• The Meatrix
• Animals

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• The Woman and the Sea
• Jus' Call me Tjarra

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Air Pollution
• Melody...out of tune
• Miles to Go

4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Av

• Under the Surface

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• Wake up Call
• Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Inheritance: A Fisherman's Story

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• One of Many

9:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Shorts Programme
• Call to the Dark Side
• Here
• Indigestion
• The Architect
• Transit
• Oil Wells: Sturgeon Road and 9th Street
• If you Lived here you'd be home by now
• Come Alive
• Lightyear
• Ocean Chronicles
• Precious Little Tiny Love
• Tangly Wood
• One Stop Shopping
• Waiting for the Ice to Melt
• Two by Two
• Apnea

SUNDAY OCTOBER 3, 2004

9:00 am – 10:00 am

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Multi-Faith Environmental Celebration

11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Eco Fair

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• Youth Programme #1
• The Red Pill
• Think Twice
• Suzuki Speaks

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• The Water Thieves
• The Never, Never Water

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Mining? No Thanks! One Month in Tambogrande

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• The Ecology of the Marketplace - A Panel on the intricacies of getting Distribution

1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Eco Fair

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Brown-Bag it with the Filmmakers

2 :00 pm - 4:00 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• Youth Programme #2
• Youth, Camera, Action Videos
• Gulf Islands Film & Television School - Youth Videos

2 :00 pm - 4:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• Walking with Ghosts
• A Wild Dog's Story

2 :00 pm - 4:00 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• New Eldorado

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Bissell Room, 130 St. George St.

• Bastards

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• Save Nature
• Uts'am/Witness
• Oona River

4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

• Turn to the Wind
• The Venus Theory

7 :00 pm - 9:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

• Closing Night Gala
• Lustre

9 :00 pm - 11:00 pm

Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Closing Night Awards Presentation and Party

 

Pre-Festival Launch Event

Wednesday September 22, 2004 – 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Venue: OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor St. West
$12 / $10 – Students/Seniors

For decades, Dr. Helen Caldicott has been one of the most passionate advocates for nuclear disarmament and world peace. She founded and headed Physicians for Social Responsibility and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament. She is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and winner of numerous awards including the Gandhi Peace Prize. Planet in Focus is pleased to present Dr. Caldicott and her message of peace, education and empowerment.

 

Opening Night Gala

Tuesday September 28, 2004, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Venue: The Royal Cinema, 608 College Street
Opening Night Gala - $15
 

Mini Cine Tupy, Sergio Bloch, Brazil, Documentary, 10 min, Portuguese with subtitles, 2002
Canadian Premiere

Welcome to the Mini Cine Tupy, a movie theatre on the outskirts of Sao Paolo made from ‘trash.’ Meet the proprietor of the establishment, a charming trash gatherer whose love of the cinema inspired to collect materials found in the garbage and show matinees for the kids in the neighbourhood. The cinema opens every Sunday and the screening starts as soon as it gets dark, unless it rains. Tickets are free, and the popcorn is delicious.

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Sin Embargo: Never the Less, Judith Grey, US, Documentary, 49 min, Spanish with subtitles
Canadian Premiere

After the revolution of 1959 and the U.S. embargo that followed, the people of Cuba were left to fend for themselves. Deprived of even the most basic goods, they scavenge the alleys and scrap heaps, giving new vitality to the discarded. Their recycled products are often remarkably ingenious and creative. For Andres the sculptor, Tomas the canary breeder, and the other subjects of Sin Embargo, even the greatest pressure – whether levied by government or circumstance – cannot crush the spirit nor quash the desire to forge a better life for themselves and their families. Shot entirely in Cuba, Sin Embargo is a look into the hearts and dreams of struggling peoples and a tribute to their optimistic and resourceful determination to survive.

 

Opening Night Party

Tuesday September 28, 2004, 9:00 pm - 12:00 am
Venue: TBD

Join us for a sizzling party to celebrate the kick-off of the fifth anniversary of Canada's international environmental film festival.

 

Wednesday September 29, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Children of the Storm, Stig Holmqvist, Sweden, Documentary, 91 min, English and some subtitles, 2001
Canadian Premiere

Six teenagers from different parts of the world were the characters of a documentary series made by Swedish filmmaker Stig Holmqvist in the 1970's. Adawi who lived in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, Naoto in a suburb of Tokyo, Sahra in a refugee camp in Somalia, Soroji on the savannah in Tanzania, Sheila in Belfast, and Eusebio on a sugar plantation in Guatemala. Over the years Holmqvist tried to keep in touch with them but gradually lost contact. Now, twenty-five years later he goes looking for them. Each of them has a very personal story to tell, and through them the film mirrors the state of the world.

Winner of the Critics Award for Documentary film at the 2003 Cinema & History Festival in Istanbul.
Co-sponsored by: Amnesty International Toronto Organization

Wednesday September 29, 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
Canadian Premiere

At the First Breath of Wind, Franco Piavoli , Italy, Drama, 90 min, Italy, Italian with subtitles, 2002

At the First Breath of Wind is the cinematic complement to the slow food movement, both birthed in Italy. The stillness of summer is savoured in this study of a rural bourgeois family. Invoking a profound sense of place, relationship to land, affairs of race and class, and interactions between art and science, Piavoli draws his audience into an existential reflection on life itself. What is remarkable is that the filmmaker provides that rare element in modern cinema - quiet space for the viewer to not only enter and participate in the world of the film, but to also explore the foundations of one’s own existence. Spectacular cinematography showcases the subtle insertion of nature motifs in every frame. A deceptively simple film that lingers in the soul. Screened at Sundance 2003.

Thursday September 30, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Being Caribou, Leanne Allison & Diana Wilson , Canada, Documentary, 70 min, 2004

Newlyweds Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison set out from the remote village of Old Crow in the Yukon to follow the annual migration of the porcupine caribou herd. The young couple’s plan is to accompany the caribou on a 1500 kilometre journey across three mountain ranges from their wintering range to the spring calving grounds, and back again, on foot!

 

Thursday September 30, 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
World Premiere

Dans le Jardin du Monde, Maya Rosa, France, Documentary, 64 min, Portugues with subtitles, 2004

On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal, people in the southern agricultural region of the country recount their experiences before and after the agrarian revolution. Now, the fruits of the revolution – democracy, farming co-operatives, labour unions, employment benefits programmes, and communal land ownership – are being slowing eaten away. Poetry, humour, first person narratives, picturesque cinematography, and languid pacing elevate this film to into an elegant ode to the spirit of rural labourers. Warning: scenes of animal slaughter.

Elementary Schools Programme - Pre-registration required
Friday October 1, 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Vultures – The Flying Dustbins, Paul Reddish, Austria, Documentary, 52 min, English, 2001

Vultures may be the Cinderella species of the bird world. Although given a bad rap because they are considered ugly they are actually quite critical to their ecosystems. They are clever creatures who use stones as tools, spy on each other, and communicate about the best locations for fresh food. With side-splitting animated segments, tongue-in-cheek narration, and innovative aerial footage this documentary may turn you into a vulture lover, almost.

Special guest appearance of Baldwin, a Turkey Vulture, and Earth Ranger Chris Hakes.

Friday October 1, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Summer of Discovery, Sam Goodwin, Canada, Documentary, 48 min, English, 2003

A 550 year old man is found in the ice, along with tools, and evidence that great caribou herds once stretched across the southwest Yukon. So begins this detective story in which the detectives are not only scientists and journalists, but native youth and elders as well. For the Aboriginal peoples of the North what to do with the discoveries is perhaps more important than the artifacts that were found. Instead of conflicting, modern science and ancient traditions compliment each other in a documentary that gradually seduces the viewer.

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Yuri Vella’s World, Liivo Niglas, Estonia, Documentary, 58 min, Estonian, Khanti and Russian with subtitles, 2003
Canadian Premiere

Yuri Vella, a writer and social activist of the Forest Nenets living in western Siberia, left his home village ten years ago to lead the life of a reindeer herder in the taiga. The little unique world he created there was meant to offer insulation from the social degeneration caused by alcoholism and unemployment among the indigenous peoples of Siberia. In a film that is as unpretentious as Yuri himself, we experience the oasis he has created among the derricks of the largest oil-producing regions of Russia. The film won the IUCN Award for the Environment at the 2003 Visions du Réel Festival in Gland, Switzerland.

Friday October 1, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Re-Creating Eden, Dir: Barry Lank/ Prod: Merit Jensen Carr, Canada, Documentary, 22 min, 2003

"I want community gardens to be as common in big cities as libraries," says Laura Berman of the Food Share Garden program in Toronto. Formerly a landscape architect, Laura now devotes her life to coordinating garden projects and believes that gardens play an invaluable role in city life, providing food, recreation and a foundation for building community.

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Seeds of Change, Thirza Jones, Canada, Documentary, 48 min, 2003

“Plants and soil are alive, like us” a Costa Rican organic farmer tells a Canadian counterpart who has traveled to his country to find potential solutions for the loss of family farms across the Prairies. In a unique cultural and technical exchange, 12 Canadian farmers bring home the seeds of a green revolution, and when the ‘Ticos’ visit Canada they take back dreams of technologies that could ease their labours. An engaging film that provides practical information for everyone who wants to grow their own food.

Friday October 1, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
Canadian Premiere

Waste Land, Jens Schanze, Germany, Documentary, 63 min, German with subtitles, 2001

Over the next 40 years, twelve thousand people in the Rhineland brown coal area will be re-located to allow open-cast mining. They are given no choice, and while some are resigned to the impending dislocation others are determined to stay put. Stunningly photographed in black and white, Waste Land observes the citizens of three villages in their old homes over the course of a year. They are movingly articulate about what they expect to experience in their new locations where developers make all the rules.

Friday October 1, 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
Canadian Premiere

Still, the Children are Here, Dinaz Stafford, US, Documentary, 84 min, Garo with subtitles, 2003

For some indigenous peoples, cultivating rice is a way of life and worship. In the west Garo Hills of north-eastern India, villagers still grow ancient and diverse strains of hill rice in the same way that their ancestors did six thousand years ago. Still, the Children are Here is an illustration of the magic that can happen when the filmmaker gets out of the way and allows people to tell their own story. Instead of having the dialogue simultaneously translated for her during shooting, Stafford chose to just observe what the Garo did and said before the camera, and has created a beautiful document of their lives.

 

Organic Pancake Brunch

Saturday October 2, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Courtyard at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
$5 in advance or $6 at the door

A delicious organic pancake breakfast made with locally grown ingredients provided by environmentally-conscious producers. Start our festival day at this all-ages event and then take in your choice of a screening and concert for children, or screenings for youth or adults.

Eco Fair

Saturday October 2 - 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Sunday October 3 - 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Venue: Courtyard at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Like an old fashioned town square – where friends and strangers meet, ideas and information are exchanged, healthy products and produce are offered for sampling – the Eco Fair is an exciting and interactive forum where you will be inspired, entertained and informed. A diverse range of environmentally-conscious businesses, government agencies, non-govermental organizations, and vendor, offer simple and effective ways to improve your life and the world around you.

Children’s Programme

Saturday October 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Room 222 at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Termites, Nick Hilligoss, Australia, Animation, 5 min, English, 2003
Canadian Premiere

While Eco, the Pest Controller, is out ridding the world of pests the natural way, a nest of termites are literally eating him out of house and home. This calls for the expert termite eater, the Echnida, and not a moment too soon. Hilarious animation that will have young and old cheering and rolling on the floor.

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The Great Ball Game, Andrew Horne, Canada, Animation, 6 min, English, 2003

For generations the Muskogee First Nations have passed down a tale that reminds us that what makes each of us unique can often be used to great advantage. Now this delightful story comes alive through textural cut-out style animation. Once an outcast, Bat comes through in the great ball game between the creatures with teeth and those with wings.

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A Day with the Earth, Urabe Ginshiro & Nakamura Daisuke, Japan, Animation, 15 min, 2002

A little boy discovers that humans have a lot in common with animals – from our bodily functions to the ways we move. Children will enjoy the irreverence of this frank and fanciful look at the connection between all the creatures that live on this planet.

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Chris McKhool’s Earth, Seas and Air Concert

The film screenings lead into a fun and interactive eco-concert featuring children’s entertainer Chris McKhool who is back by popular demand. He gets children and families dancing and singing songs from his appearances on Mr. Dressup, YTV and the CBC. Kids join Chris on stage to play simple musical instruments he has gathered from around the world! This interactive eco-concert features Chris on guitar and violin performing folk, pop, wordbeat, rap and jazz. 100% fun!

Saturday October 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St.

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream, Gregory Greene, Canada, Documentary, 78 min, English, 2004

As Canada drifts towards American levels of consumption, patterns of urban planning, and resulting crises of sustainability, The End of Suburbia is a timely cautionary tale. With global demand for fossil fuels soon to outstrip supply some environmentalists are pushing for the development of alternative energy sources, but that may not be enough. A comprehensive and challenging film, The End of Suburbia, attacks the problems with brutal honestly and offers some directions for salvation.

Saturday October 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

In God’s Own Country, Nina Subramani & Rajani Mani, India, Documentary, 28 min, English, 2002
Canadian Premiere

Children run out of their classrooms to look at planes flying above. The planes are spraying the cashew fields of Kerala with a deadly pesticide - Endosulfan. The local doctor and school principal notice increased cancer levels, birth defects and other health effects. Laboratory tests reveal that almost everything is contaminated – from the water, to the vegetables, to human blood. So begins the community's battle for its right to pure air and water. A haunting portrait of the hidden human costs of the cheap foods we eat.

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Alternative Agriculture: Food for Life, Ray Burley, Canada, Documentary, 46 min, English, 2004

The growing demand for natural, organic foods is creating an agricultural revolution. Increasingly, consumers are looking for food produced without the use of chemicals, pesticides, hormones or antibiotics. Animals, grains, fruits and vegetables are raised to thrive in a natural environment – the antithesis of factory farming. Even though organic food is more expensive to produce, shoppers are willing to pay the added cost. They believe that by buying factory food, they are supporting a socially and environmentally destructive form of agriculture. A film about common sense and hope.

Saturday October 2 – 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

The Future is Wild – Ice World, Paul Reddish, US, Documentary/Animation, 49 min, 2002
Canadian Premiere

What would the world look like in the future if humanity ceased to exist? Enter the science-fiction vision of a group of scientists who use their knowledge of geology and biology to construct possible future worlds. Spectacular computer generated imaging gives life to extraordinary creatures that are at once familiar and strange.

 

Saturday October 2, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Rm 222 at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Termites, Nick Hilligoss, Australia, Animation, 5 min, English, 2003
Canadian Premiere

While Eco, the Pest Controller, is out ridding the world of pests the natural way, a nest of termites are literally eating him out of house and home. This calls for the expert termite eater, the Echnida, and not a moment too soon. Hilarious animation that will have young and old cheering and rolling on the floor.

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Cockroach Cocktail, Brigitte Krause, Germany, Documentary, 67 min, 2002
Canadian Premiere

This satirical documentary about the common cockroach guides you through the world of one of the most hated but least understood insects on earth; a creature that shares our homes, offices, our space, but not our love. Professional and amateur cockroach experts – scientists, roach wranglers, rap artists, even the owner of a ‘Cockroach Hall of Fame’- share stories that ranges from the practical to the ridiculous in an effort to help you overcome your cockroach phobias. Winner of the Critic’s Prize at the International Environmental Film Festival in Goias, Brazil.

 
Saturday October 2, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St .

Wake Up Call , Daniel Tonitto, UK , Documentary, 6 min, English, 2003
Canadian Premiere

“Fear makes me feel alive” is one of the sentiments expressed in this cinematic reflection on the current cult of fear mongering, terror marketing, media complicity, and the global grassroots opposition to the continuing war on Iraq . Infinitely more interesting and creatively satisfying than the plethora of protest-rally videos making the activist circuits.

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Wildlife Warriors – Allies of Nature , Daniel Searle, Australia , Documentary, 55 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

The ecological consequences of war, and preparations for war, are rarely reported in the media. Even rarer still is this story, of a country – Denmark – that is creating a model for how the military can reduce its impact on the environment during training exercises. If an outright ban on global armed forces appears unrealistic, employing best-practices may be the next option.

 

Saturday October 2, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Vultures – The Flying Dustbins, Director’s Name, Austria, Documentary, 52 min, English, 2001
Canadian Premiere

Vultures may be the Cinderella species of the bird world. Although given a bad rap because they are considered ugly they are actually quite critical to their ecosystems. They are clever creatures who use stones as tools, spy on each other, and communicate about the best locations for fresh food. With side-splitting animated segments, tongue-in-cheek narration, and innovative aerial footage this documentary may turn you into a vulture lover, almost.

Saturday October 2, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Thirst, Alan Snitow & Deborah Kaufman, US, Documentary, 60 min, 2004
Canadian Premiere

Is water part of a shared “commons,” a human right for all people, or is it a commodity to be bought, sold and traded in a global marketplace? Thirst tells the stories of communities in Japan, Bolivia, India and the United States that are asking these fundamental questions, as waste becomes the most valuable commodity of the 21st century.

 
Saturday October 2, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Rm 222 at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

The Meatrix, Louis Fox, US, Animation, 4 min, 2003

This humorous Flash-animation short spoofs the Matrix films. Moopheus, a trenchcoat-clad cow, initiates Leo, a young naieve pig, into the ugly world of factory farming and industrial agriculture. Created as part of an innovative cyber-campaign The Meatrix injects wit into activism.

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Animals, Jason Young, Canada, Documentary, 72 min, 2003

Soon after Jason and Julia Young bought an abandoned farm property in Nova Scotia, Jason began a year-long experiment that would change his life forever. The idea seemed simple. If you’re going to eat meat, Jason thought, then you should raise the animals, get to know them and their personalities, respect them and eventually slaughter them yourself. One of the most personal and profoundly self-revealing films ever made, this documentary give the viewer a front seat on the internal ethical rollercoaster of the main character.

Saturday October 2, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St.

The Woman and the Sea, Ariane Porto, Brazil, Documentary, 13 min, Portuguese with subtitles, 2003
Canadian Premiere

Faced with social stigma, diminishing returns on their labours, and loss of their fishing grounds, women on the coast of Brazil use video to document their life, struggles and dreams. A unique collaboration between filmmaker and community results in a touching documentary about life beside the sea.

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Jus' Call Me Tjarra- Catching Crayfish in Hermanus, Lieza Van Tonder, South Africa, Documentary, 48 min, 2004
Canadian Premiere

Be prepared to fall in love with Tjarra, a humble Muslim fisherman who lives on the outskirts of the popular holiday resort of Hermanus in the Western Cape of South Africa. With no boats at their disposal, the local community uses the jetty to stock up on crayfish. Always ready to assist others, one day Tjarra finds that the courtesies he has shown start to be repaid. Perhaps one day his dream of building a mosque will come true.

Co-sponsor: Networked Intelligence for Development

 

Saturday October 2, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Air Pollution, Nick Hilligoss, Australia, Animation, 5 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

So what do you get when you join the front half of a VW Beetle with the rear of a Morris Minor van? A very quiet, pollution-free vehicle, albeit one without an engine. But alternative energy sources are all around, waiting to be tapped – the sun, the wind, the rain…maybe even a couple of freeloading rats. Enjoy the ride on this wily animated short.

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Melody…Out of Tune, Pankaj Tiwari, India, Docu-Drama, 6 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

Music is a Divine gift, but without quality air to breathe one cannot imagine even a single note of music. Illustrating the intimate relationship between humans and nature, the film creatively grapples with the filmmakers’ dilemma of how to show clean air.

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Miles to Go, Nina Subramani, India, Documentary, 58 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

Almost twenty years after the Bhopal tragedy, Greenpeace campaigners journey the length of India to uncover corporate crime and government inaction. What they found was shocking - pipes releasing untreated effluents, roads constructed from radioactive materials. The same journey also reveals something far more important - that people are fighting for their rights. The journey also reveals something far more important - people in the South being pro-active instead of the stereotypically passive and reactive images we see in the media.

Saturday October 2, 4:30 am – 6:30 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Under the Surface – A Journey along the São Francisco River, Marcus Vinicius Cezar, Brazil, Drama, 105 min, Portugues with subtitles, 2004

Celeste has a week’s vacation and is trying to catch up with her elusive boyfriend, Henrique, a photographer on an assignment to document life along Brazil’s São Francisco River Valley. Their concurrent adventures introduce them, and us, to a world full of tales, legends, miracles, superstitions, pilgrims, feasts and secular traditions that are quickly fading away. A talking canoe is just one of many delightful reminders that the world is embued with spirit. Cezar has purposefully chosen to recount the richness of life in this piece of paradise before it is destroyed by so-called development.

Saturday October 2, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Wake Up Call, Daniel Tonitto, UK, Documentary, 6 min, English, 2003

“Fear makes me feel alive” is one of the sentiments expressed in this cinematic reflection on the current cult of fear mongering, terror marketing, media complicity, and the global grassroots opposition to the continuing war on Iraq. Infinitely more interesting and creatively satisfying than the plethora of protest-rally videos making the activist circuits.

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Helen’s War – Portrait of a Dissident, Anna Broinowski, Canada/Australia, Documentary, 53 min, 2003

Anti-nuclear campaigner Dr. Helen Caldicott comes out of retirement armed with a new book and the conviction that she can inspire Americans to rise up against their own military-industrial complex. Taking place over a volatile 12 months in which American troops land in Afghanistan and Iraq, Helen's War is the complex portrait of a blatant optimist, by a Generation-X cynic in desperate need of conversion who wonders if a straight-talking dissident like Helen can make a difference. If you love this planet, take a mental health break with one of the most articulate voices of sanity around.

Saturday October 2, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Inheritance – A Fisherman’s Story, Peter Hegedus, Australia, Documentary, 75 min, Hungarian with subtitles, 2002
Canadian Premiere

When a dam burst at a Romanian goldmine in early 2000, more than 100,000 tons of cyanide was released into the Tisza River, devastating its ecology as well as the livelihoods of subsistence fishermen in neighboring Hungary. Fisherman Balazs Meszaros grapples with the effects of the disaster on his community, and travels to Australia to confront the corporate forces behind the mining operation. A riveting portrait of one man’s tenacity and hope in the inherent goodness of humanity.

Saturday October 2, 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

One of Many, Jo Béranger & Doris Buttignol, Germany, Documentary, 94 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

Sally Tisiga is a member of the Wolf Clan of the Kaska Nation. Buckle-up as she takes us on a road-trip across the magnificent landscape of Western Canada searching for her own history. She’s revisiting the memory of generations of native children, wrenched from their culture and the land, whose pain still impacts native people today. Her search is not for victimhood, it’s for strength and inspiration as she advocates for native children in the child welfare system.

Shorts Programme

Saturday October 2, 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Call to the Dark Side, Barbara Klutinis, US, Experimental Drama, 3 min, 2003

The final moments before a child takes a great leap. Is it a metaphor of humanity plunging into self-destruction, or a leap of faith to create change in the world? This wonderful short launches a programme of thought-provoking, creative, and funny shorts from around the world.

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Here, Graeme Powell, Canada, Experimental, 5 min, 2004

An expressionistic treatment through images, at times abstract, and music, of the current fate of the countryside as it becomes swallowed by urban growth and development.

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Indigestion, Andréa Cohen, Canada, Experimental, 2 min, 2003

Indigestion is a metaphor, a bird-eye view, a searing dive inside two bodies and other living organisms, increasingly threatened with death.

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The Architect, Rick Fischer & Don Rice, Canada, Experimental, 4 min, 2004

The juxtaposition of natural and human-made elements in the landscape evoke the false nature/culture dichotomy so prevalent in our society.

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Transit, Anne Marie Nakagawa, Canada, Experimental, 9 min, 2001

Transit is a collage of a city in movement. Soft-focus images transform the familiar into a strangely fascinating playground, while ambient audio is manipulated to achieve an almost religious soundscape. A haunting lament on life in the fast lane.

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Oil Wells: Sturgeon Road and 9th Street, Christina Battle, Canada, Experimental, 3 min, 2002

The repetitive rhythm and motion of oil wells, a sight common in northern Alberta, becomes a symbol of the monotony of the energy powered industrial complex.

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If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home By Now, Diane Bonder, US, Animated, 15 min, 2001

Stories ripped from the headlines of a small-town newspaper give rise to images which explore divisiveness over land, the relationship between public and private space, and the concept of home.

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Come Alive, Dylan Griffin, Canada, Mockumentary, 2 min, 2001

A mock commercial that documents the growing problem of pollution on the beaches and deserts of Baja, Mexico.

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Lightyear, Dan Sokolowski, Canada, Experimental, 3 min, , 2003

Reflect on the cycles of nature with a trip around the Sun from January to December 2001 A.D as seen from 45° 1’N, 75° 38’W.

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Ocean Chronicles, Leandro Blanco, Spain, Experimental Documentary, 5 min, 2003
Canadian Premiere

A kaleidoscope of images and sounds reflecting humanity's relationship with the sea. They are unfinished chronicles, for the responsibility on how the final chapter is written will depend entirely on each one of us.

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Precious Little Tiny Love, Allyson Mitchell, Canada, Experimental, 3 min, 2003

Using small flocked plastic animals in time-lapsed landscapes to reflect the guilt of the socially conscious carnivore, the filmmaker sings an homage to creatures that get crunched.

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Tangly wood, Peter Stinson, Canada, Animation, 13 min, 2003

Loupe, a young puppet artist spends her days collecting found objects to create her art. One day, she finds something that brings back a memory and drives her into a frenzy of painting and creation.

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One Stop Shopping, Christopher McKay, Canada, Animation, 4 min, 2001

Step inside an upscale supermarket with two consumers infatuated with its "fabulousness", and witness their gradual submission to the spell of the marketplace.

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Waiting for the Ice to Melt, Darlene Naponse, Canada, Animation, 4 min, 2003

An experimental vision of ice melting, signifying what we wait for and what waits for us.

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Two By Two, Emily Dodge, US, Animation, 9 min, 2003

The Great Flood is the backdrop for this gut-splitting animated adventure featuring the animals of the Ark, sans Noah. This is where they tell their vision of what happened .

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Apnea, Steve Moreau, France, Experimental, 4 min, 2003

Whilst doing an Apnea dive, a man lets his imagination wander to the elements that surround us, posing an open question and providing a concluding metaphor for this eclectic shorts programme.

 

Multi-Faith Environmental Celebration

Sunday October 3, 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Venue: Courtyard at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

A celebration of faith-based teachings, practices, and rituals around how we can live in harmony with nature. Join members of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, First Nations, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim,and Zoroastrian communities as we share and honour environmental and spiritual wisdom. People who have no affiliation with a particular faith are also welcome to participate.

 

Youth Programme #1

Sunday October 3, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St.

The Red Pill, David Sheen, Canada, Drama, 25 min, 2003

This scratch video culture jam samples twenty-five Hollywood feature films creating a subversive, sometimes hilarious, deep ecology riff using the language of the masses. In a vertically integrated media environment a little editing software can be a powerful tool.

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Think Twice, Mallory Graham, US, Documentary, 7 min, 2003

When adults start droning on about the woes of the world two typical North American teens tune out and into a fun spoof of a certain credit card company’s ‘priceless’ advertising. Created in collaboration with real high school students, this videos say it’s time to take a look at the real price-tag of the things we buy.

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Suzuki Speaks, Tony Papa, Canada, Documentary, 45 min, 2003

If there is a Canadian environmentalist who has the stature of a rock star it is Dr. David Suzuki. Suzuki Speaks captures the passion, vision and inspiration of world-renowned scientist and environmentalist Dr. Suzuki as he speaks about the human animal and our place in the universe. His powerful words, mixed with stunning live action and digital images, create a documentary that you won't just watch - you'll experience.

Sunday October 3, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

The Water Thieves, Sébastien Élias, Canada, Drama, 14 min, French with subtitles, 2003

Montréal. There's no more water anywhere. People are thirsty and the situation is critical. Some will do anything to get their hands on the precious life-giving fluid. How far would you go?

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The Never, Never Water, Alessandra Speciale, Italy/Burkina Faso, Documentary, 48 min, Subtitles, 2002

Women line up overnight to fill up their containers so their families can eat and wash, but before they can get to the village tap local businessmen with steel drums have stolen gallons of the precious liquid. And even earlier, a multi-national corporation has wrested control of the country’s water supply. This beautiful and cautionary documentary illustrates why the women call it the “never, never water.”

Sunday October 3, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Mining? No Thanks! One Month in Tambogrande, Diane St-Antoine, Canada, Documentary, 51 min, 2004

Manhattan Minerals, a Canadian mining company, has been trying for four years to build a mine in Northern Peru on land it claims is a desert. In sharp contrast, this beautiful and thoughtful documentary shows us that Tambogrande is a vibrant, productive agricultural community. The people know that the environmental impact assessment of the mine would not be acceptable in Canada, and they are fighting to ensure that their government won’t accept it either.

Sunday October 3, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Room 204 at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
Free

The Ecology of the Marketplace - A Panel on the intricacies of getting Distribution

You’ve made your film, and now you’d like it to find an audience, a large audience. And, it would be nice if you could make some money too, or at least pay off your credit card bills. Come and learn from experts in the field of distribution. What are the realities of the marketplace? Are there markets you haven’t even thought about? What should you keep in mind before you begin your next production? The panelists represent a wide range of works and markets.

Sunday October 3, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Venue: Room 204 at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue
Free

Brown-Bag it with the Filmmakers

Bring your lunch, or purchase one at the Innis Café, and join a facilitated lunch-time discussion among attending filmmakers highlighting the challenges, strategies, and directions of environmental filmmaking around the world.

Youth Programme #2

Sunday October 3, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St.

Youth, Camera, Action, Canada, 30 min, English, 2003
World Premieres

Join the Eco-Generation. For two weeks in August, a diverse group of teenagers participated in the second annual Youth, Camera, Action video production camp - a co-production between Planet in Focus and Charles Street Video. Their snappy productions are unveiled today!
Canada in Focus logo

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Youth Videos from the Gulf Islands Film & Television School

Sunday October 3, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Walking with Ghosts, Caroline Underwood, Canada, Documentary, 45 min, 2004

Walking with Ghosts is a rare wildlife documentary that profiles a woman scientist and the animals and ecosystem she studies. Elizabeth Hofer, a predator biologist, has dedicated more than 18 years to tracking the intricate relationship between the elusive lynx and its prey, the snowshoe hare. They are the very spirit of these icy northern forests and their tracks in the snow leave many stories for those who know how to read them.

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A Wild Dog’s Story, Mike Holding, UK, Docu-drama, 48 min, 2002
Canadian Premiere

This intimate film recreates the dramatic events in the life of "Newky" - an African Wild Dog. It is a poignant tale of struggle, endurance and triumph, and of one creature’s extraordinary spirit to win through against almost impossible odds. An emotionally powerful true story, which highlights the challenges facing one of the worlds most endangered carnivores.

Sunday October 3 – 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

New Eldorado, Tibor Kocsis, Hungary, Documentary, 59 min, Romanian with subtitles, 2004
World Premiere

In Romania, the biggest gold mine in Europe is being prepared to be open. A Canadian company is planning to build a tailing pond for storing the cyanide waste water used for extraction of gold, a hundred times bigger than the one which caused the catastrophe of the River Tisza in 2000 (see The Inheritance, Saturday 7:00 pm). The thousands of people would have to be relocated, and the mountains surrounding the villages would disappear within 15 years as 20 tonnes of dynamite is used per day.

 

Sunday October 3 – 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Bissell Room at Robarts Library, 130 St. George St.

Bastards, Mort Ransen, Canada, 98 min, Drama, 2003

Sam, a retired man, has had his home invaded by a homeless young woman who is a professional protester, at war with all the bastards, mostly men, whom she considers are making a mess of the planet. The film is literally seen through the eyes of Sam, one of the two main characters in the story. Except for the final shot, we never see him, but only what he sees. We know only what he knows and we find out about things when he does.. This experimental feature uses a hand-held video camera and a crew of only seven people to achieve unusual intimacy. The story, written especially for the small camera, was shot in a way that would have been impossible with conventional technology. Warning: colourful language and nudity.

Sunday October 3 – 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Save Nature, Edgar Wilkening, Germany, PSA, 2 min, German with subtitles, 2003
Canadian Premiere

What if all the creative energy, resources, and airtime that goes into advertising – selling consumer products and services – were focused on saving nature? This slick public service announcement hints at the possibilities.

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Uts’am/Witness, Jeremy Williams, Canada, Documentary, 14 min, 2003

The Squamish people of British Columbia have seen their forests steadily destroyed by logging. Now through a unique cultural exchange programme that explores the concepts of Dialogue, Ceremony, Art, Ecology, and Home, they are working to help non-native people re-build relationships to the land. Their hope is that if we understand and respect the forests more perhaps we will endanger them less.

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Oona River: Between Forest and Sea, Jennifer Rashleigh, Canada, Documentary, 37 min, 2003

Tucked away on BC's rugged North coast lives one of the last homesteading communities. Meet three generations of Oona River residents, who use their skills, adaptability and practical environmentalist approach to live richly and harmoniously in a land with no grocery store, no restaurant and no road to the mainland. Their biggest challenge for survival is not the long winters or the bears, but the provincial government’s capital-intensive policy decisions on logging and fishing that may just regulate Oona River out of existence.

Sponsored by: The Richard Ivey Foundation

Sunday October 3 – 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: Town Hall at Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue

Turn to the Wind, Lea Nakonechny, Canada, Experimental, 6 min, 2002

Shot on location at the Sun Bridge Wind Farm near Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, Turn to the Wind is visual exploration of towering wind turbines in the unique landscape that surrounds them. The film is both a "day in the life" of these amazing high-tech structures and an attempt to reconcile the new dynamic between landscape and technology in Southwest Saskatchewan.

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The Venus Theory, Pasi Toiviainen, Finland, Documentary, 52 min, 2004
Canadian Premiere

Is the world warming up? How much? How quickly? What kind of an effect can the climate change caused by humans have on the Earth? Trying to sort through all the conflicting information in the media is enough to make your head spin. This documentary clearly and engagingly explains the greenhouse effect and answers the question: could our planet ever get as hot as Venus?

 

Closing Night Gala

Sunday October 3 – 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Lustre, Art Jones, US, Drama, 81 min, English, 2003
Canadian Premiere

New York's losing its soul says Hugo, a small-time loan shark. Faceless buildings and vacant people are chipping away at what's left of the real, old-time New York. Shot in the Big Apple shortly after 9/11, this is a magical story of renewal in uncertain times. It questions the foundations of the urban landscape and the values of our metropolized lives, and finds a glimmer of hope inside all of us.

 

Closing Night Awards Presentation and Party

Sunday October 3 – 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Venue: Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Avenue

Join us for the presentation of the Eco Hero awards to outstanding Community and Media Industry leaders; and the awards for Best Canadian and International Shorts and Feature Length Productions. Following the presentations please join us for party to celebrate our fifth anniversary and to toast the many filmmakers, sponsors, partners and volunteers who have contributed to our continued success over the years.