There seems to be no shortage of things to do this October. The
Vancouver International Film Festival with its 377 films this year (!) kicked off on October 1st. Most pertinent perhaps to this blog is VIFF's environmental program entitled "The Way of Nature." From the VIFF website:
"The films offer both shocking news on the accelerated mess we're making in some of the most beautiful parts of this globalized planet, and possible redemption in the rediscovery of the ways of nature in others." The following is a quick run-through of the films on offer:
From, "HomeGrown"The Age of Stupid"I hate this film. I felt as if I was watching all my own excuses for not doing anything about climate change being stripped away from me. And it's tender and funny and wise as well. Can I just pretend I never saw it?" --William Nicholson, Oscar-nominated writer of Shadowlands and Gladiator.
At the Edge of the WorldIn late November 2006, a documentary crew accompanied 46 international volunteers from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they embarked on their third Antarctic campaign to stop Japanese whaling. What emerged was At the Edge of the World, an intrepid record of modern-day piracy and the high-stakes battle between commerce and ecological survival.
Battle for the Xingu with
Dirty ParadiseBattle for the Xingu (12 minutes): The Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, is home to more than 10,000 indigenous people whose traditional way of life has been suddenly threatened by the Brazilian government's plans to build a massive hydro-electric dam. They are now fighting back...
Dirty Paradise (76 minutes): Along the Amazon, the Wayana people live in a remote region of French Guiana, rich with flora, fauna and, unfortunately, gold. It is gold that has brought 10,000 illegal gold-seekers to the area, where they hide in the forests and cause ecological devastation. The primary rain forest is plundered and rivers and creeks are polluted by tons of mercury and mud. The authorities, the army and the French police say they are powerless... Meanwhile the mercury levels in the fish--a staple of the Wayana diet--are so high that many of the local children face severe neurological complications.
The Beekeepers with
PetropolisThe Beekeepers (28 minutes): The world-wide dissipation of the honeybee population has been seen by many as a harbinger of ecological catastrophe. Fruits trees need bees. This experimental documentary utilizes in-camera and special effects to suggest the otherness of a different order of perception, and to explore the meaning of what has become known as "Colony Collapse Disorder." Ancient accounts of beekeeping are mixed with interviews with beekeepers of today.
Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands (43 minutes): The horror. The poison. The appalling stinking shit-storm we've created. These words easily come to mind as one witnesses the sorry spectacle that is the Athabasca tar sands from the air. Who needs Antichrist, Shock Troopers, or Apocalypse Now! when we've got our own Canadian hell-in-the-making in our back yard... As the film cannily asks, if we've done this, what will we do next? This is a stunning document that proves that a moving image can reveal space beyond ordinary human perception.
Beetle Queen Conquers TokyoAn entomologist by trade, director Jessica Oreck brings a scientist's--and an artist's--eye to the Japanese mania for insects in her quite beautiful documentary debut Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo. Beetle Queen turns documentary style on its head and creates a phantasmagoric, occasionally hilarious, obscenely gorgeous ode to the insect in us all.
A Blooming Business with
NoraA Blooming Business (52 minutes): A rose is a rose is a rose, unless it's a toxic offshoot of international corporate corruption. Director Ton van Zantvoort's unsparing portrait of the dirty reality of the flower business, may make it impossible for you look at a flower in quite the same way again...
Nora (35 minutes): Based on childhood memories of the dancer Nora Chipaumire who was born in Zimbabwe in 1965. Using performance and dance, she brings her history to life in a swiftly moving poem of sound and image. The original score was composed by a Zimbabwean legend--Thomas Mapfumo.
CrudeAlready dubbed "the film that Chevron doesn't want you to see," Crude joins the ranks of other equally strong films that explore the terrible human cost of the oil business. With precision and clarity, director Joe Berlinger (Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) systematically unpacks the story behind one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet.
eatripIt's mysterious, amusing, it makes me happy, it's fun, is how farmer Naoko Morioka sums up her relationship with food. But her statement also provides a fitting encapsulation of eatrip, an exquisitely beautiful documentary from director Yuri Nomura. The miraculous, yet perfectly ordinary acts of cooking and eating form the basis for this cinematic essay on all things edible.
H2Oil"This is a personal film and it is a political film. It is story about real people, not abstract impacts. It is a visual story built on the sounds and the images that are quickly diminishing in Alberta. It is not with nostalgia, but with hope, that we will attempt to make this place, and the people within it, come alive." --Shannon Walsh
HomeA magnificently macro portrait of our planet's alarming state of health, photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's Home puts the aerial imagery of his bestselling book, Earth From Above, superbly into motion... [The film] reveals the daunting and disturbing results of massive worldwide industrialization, which has transformed natural wonders into dangerously unnatural displays of global warming and scarcity.
HomeGrownThe Dervaes family lives a few hundred feet away from a major freeway in downtown Pasadena. But their urban homestead (located on a 1/5 of an acre) could very well be from an entirely different age. As Anaïs Dervaes says, "Sometimes, I feel like I was born in the wrong century." The family came to urban homesteading somewhat by accident, when patriarch Jules Dervaes turned his front lawn into a sea of wildflowers and discovered that restaurants would pay for edible blossoms. But selling the flowers to buy groceries seemed counterproductive, and soon the family expanded into growing their own food. As they honed their intensive cultivation practices, their output increased every year, growing from 2500 to 3000 to more than 6000 pounds of produce annually.
HomeGrown screenings will be followed by a discussion on urban gardening with special guests.Sweet CrudeWhen the inauguration of a library in the Nigerian village of Oporoza was hijacked by a group of articulate and impassioned students, demanding an end to the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta, and a share of the astronomical oil profits ($700 billion) MEND (The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) was born. Projected to supply a quarter of the US oil imports by 2015, the Niger Delta occupies an increasingly fraught position. Nowhere is this more explicitly clear than when Cioffi brokers a deal with ABC News for a Dateline story on the crisis in the Delta. As the spokesperson for MEND struggles to make himself understood, the corporate media agenda is clearly revealed in all its predatory hysteria.
SweetgrassIn the beginning, there is sheep. Sheep grazing in a fluffy herd; one stares at the camera; does she register she's being filmed...? The scene is slightly befuddling, yet entirely intimate. Then, the shearing and the birthing. And, only then, the men responsible for bringing the sheep to pasture, real-life cowboys. As we follow them along their 150-mile journey, taking the sheep to summer pasture through Montana's breathtaking and often savage Beartooth Mountains, the frustrations mount--this is a way of life trapped between the past and an uncertain future.
Way of NatureNot a word is spoken in director Nina Hedenius' depiction of the passage of four seasons on a remote (and exceptionally well-managed) Swedish farm. But as the ordinary activity of farm life (both human and animal) unfolds with almost stately grace, something curious begins to happen. A cow delivering twin calves, with help from the farmer, is as riveting as anything Shakespeare ever penned. Not only does the irrelevance of language become readily apparent, but so does the meaninglessness of much of contemporary culture. Nowhere is this more explicit than in a scene where farmer Karl Gustav Hedling, draped with his favorite dogs, sleeps peacefully, undisturbed by radio broadcasts of distant wars and calamities.
VIFF films typically have multiple screenings, so click on each film title to view not only more comprehensive information about the film but also its screening times and locations. Please note: VIFF tickets are either $8 or $11, and you must purchase a one-time $2 2009 VIFF membership.
If you don't manage to catch any of the films VIFF is presenting (or can't get enough of these environment-themed films), why not check out the first annual
Stone Soup Film Festival running October 17th and 18th? Presented by the Grandview/Woodland Food Connection and The East End Food Co-op, this film festival aims to
"[respond] to the enormous interest in food issues these days. Environmental concerns, globalization, economic collapse are alerting us to the fragility of our food system and the urgency of action. Although the realities surrounding our current land and food systems can be disheartening, our films aim to emphasize the positive efforts being made as a way to empower the current generation to take action." Needless to say, the film line-up looks impressive, and at $15 for a festival pass... why haven't you gotten yours already?
WHAT? The first annual Stone Soup Film Festival
WHEN? Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th
WHERE? Britannia High School auditoriumFestival passes are available at Britannia Community Centre (1661 Napier St.) and Health on the Drive (1458 Commercial Dr.) for a mere
$15. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased at the door by donation (suggestion: $5 - $10) for each film slot. For more information contact Ian at 604-718-5895 or visit the
film fest blog. All films will be screened in the Britannia High School auditorium.
QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE FILMS:
Please note that guest speakers will be presenting at the end of many of the film "blocks."
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH11:00am to 1:30pmMAD CITY CHICKENS
Directed by Tashai Lovington and Robert Lughai
78 min / 2008 / USA
Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad scientist and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.
PLANTING THE SEEDS
Video by Hadas Levey
30 min / 2009 / Canada
This BC made documentary shows us the many food security projects being carried out in the rural town of Kaslo, BC. Seed savings, lawns to gardens, and canning are a few of the initiatives that we can all learn from and which are helping to build food security in this small BC town.
Speaker : Heather Havens on raising urban backyard chickens in Vancouver+++
2:00pm to 4:00pmPOWER OF COMMUNITY: HOW CUBA SURVIVED PEAK OIL
Directed by Faith Morgan
53 min / 2006 / USA
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens.
ONE MORE DEAD FISH (Short version of full length)
Directed and produced by Allan and Stefan Forbes
8 min / Canada
Handliners in Nova Scotia are still desperately trying to survive, eking out a meager living on tiny quotas, while bottom trawlers rake in short-term profits, destroy the environment, catch spawning females, and discard huge amounts of fish.
ONE MAN, ONE COW, ONE PLANET
Directed by Thomas and Barbara Burstyn
56 min / 2007 / New Zealand
One man, One Cow, One Planet exposes globalization and its mantra of infinite growth in a finite world for what it really is: an environmental and human disaster. But across India marginal farmers are fighting back. By reviving an arcane form of agriculture, they are saving their poisoned lands and exposing the bio-colonialism of multinational corporations. One man, One Cow, One Planet tells their story through the teachings of an elderly New Zealander many are calling the new Gandhi.
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4:30pm to 7:30pmLIFE AND DEBT
Directed by Stephanie Black
86 min / 2002 / USA
Jamaica, land of sea, sand and sun. And a prime example of the complexities of economic globalization on the world's developing countries. Using conventional and non-conventional documentary techniques, this searing film dissects the "mechanism of debt" that is destroying local agriculture and industry in Third World countries while substituting them with sweat-shops and cheap imports. With a voice-over narration written by Jamaica Kincaid, adapted from her non-fiction book "A Small Place," "Life and Debt" is an unapologetic look at the "new world order" from the point of view of Jamaican workers, farmers, government and policy officials, who see the reality of globalization from the ground up.
ASPARAGUS (Short version of full length)
Directed and Produced by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly
6 min / 2008 / USA
For 30 years, Oceana County Michigan has been the “Asparagus Capital of the World”. Now its spear-struck residents and family farms take on the U.S. War on Drugs, Free Trade and a Fast Food Nation, all to save their beloved roots.
EL CONTRATO
Directed by Min Sook Lee
51 min / 2003/ Canada
El Contrato follows Teodoro Bello Martinez, a poverty-stricken father of four living in Central Mexico, and several of his countrymen as they make an annual migration to southern Ontario. For eight months of the year the town's population absorbs 4000 migrant labourers who pick tomatoes for conditions and wages no local will accept. Under a well-meaning government program that allows growers to monitor themselves, the opportunity to exploit workers is as ripe as the fruit they pick. Grievances are deflected by a long line of others "back home" who are willing to take their place. Despite a fear of repercussions, the workers voice their desire for dignity and respect, as much as for better working conditions. El Contrato ends as winter closes in and the Mexicans pledge, not for the first time and possibly not the last, that it's their final season in the north.
Speaker : Erika Del Carmen Fuchs, Justicia for Migrant Workers BC co-founder and member+++
8:00pm to 10:00pmFOOD INC.
Directed by Robert Kenner
93 min / 2009 / USA
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
FOOD JUSTICE: A GROWING MOVEMENT (short)
Directed and produced by Martina Brimmer and Zora Tucker
8 min / 2006 / USA
This film deals with the issues of urban food security in relationship to systemic oppression, environmental racism, health issues and the failure of our conventional food system to support those communities that bear the consequences of social inequity. It was also their intention as activists to portray the world which they are striving to create, and so Zora and Martina focused upon several of many Bay Area grassroots projects that they consider part of the food justice movement.
LOOKING AT THE UBC FARM
Video by Linda Flechter and Jennifer Rashleigh
17 min / Canada
This film looks at the teaching, learning, urban agriculture, and community development that happens in the 24 hectare space called the UBC Farm.
Speaker : Discussion on the prospects of saving the UBC Farm.+++
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH11:00am to 1:00pmALL JACKED UP
Directed by Jennifer Mattox
110 min / 2008 / USA
All Jacked Up is an angst-driven portrait of four teenagers who discover the truth about their obsessive, addictive, and emotion-fueled eating habits. All this brought on by their parents, schools, and our abusive food system that profits from them with no regard to their well-being.
RIPE FOR CHANGE (short version of full length)
Directed by Emiko Omori
8 min / 2006 / USA
This is a great little short about the edible schoolyard initiative in Berkeley as well as the transformation of public education to include stronger cultural and societal values.
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1:30pm to 3:00pmTHE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
Directed by Taggart Siegel
83 min / 2006 / USA
The epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer. An outcast in his community, Farmer John bravely stands amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions of family farming with the power of art and free expression, this powerful story of transformation and renewal heralds a resurrection of farming in America. The film is a haunting odyssey, capturing what it means to be different in rural America.
HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION (short)
Directed by Robert McFalls
10 min / 2008 / USA
Jules Dervaes and his three adult children have been growing their own food, and working to live off the grid for nearly a decade. Their urban homestead located in Pasadena is both a revolution in living and a model for self-sufficiency.
The full-length documentary is being presented by the VIFF this year.A WELL WATERED GARDEN
12 min / Canada
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3:30pm to 6:00pmMY BIG FAT DIET
Directed by Mary Bissell
42 min / 2008 / Canada
If you visit Alert Bay off the coast of Vancouver Island, you'll find a picturesque fishing village inhabited by two cultures, the Namgis First Nation and their non-native neighbours. Here an epidemic is undermining the health and vitality of community. Like most aboriginal communities across North America, the rates of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes here are up to five times the national average. Mainstream medical professionals cite sedentary lifestyles and a diet rich in fat as the underlying reason for the growing epidemic...
SIMPLY RAW: REVERSING DIABETES IN 30 DAYS
88 min / 2008 / USA
Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication. The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days. The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change...
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6:30pm to 9:30pmTHE GARDEN
Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
95 min / 2009 / USA
The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.
I watched The Garden earlier this year during the DOXA Documentary Film Festival and can definitely recommend that you check it out.THE URBAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY KITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT
Directed by Andrew Nguyen
8 min / 2009 / Canada
This short highlights the work of this unique community garden project run out of the UBC Farm. This project works with people who have become disconnected from their home communities and tries to reconnect them with the Earth by being a bridge between what is healthy in modern culture and traditional culture.
INDIGENOUS PLANT DIVA
Directed by Kamala Todd
10 min / 2008 / Canada
In the language of the Squamish Nation, Cease Wyss was given the name 'T'Uy'Tanat', meaning "Woman who travels by canoe to gather medicines for all people." In director Kamala Todd's lyrical portrait, Wyss reveals the remarkable healing powers of plants growing among the sprawling urban streets of downtown Vancouver.
Speakers : Cease Wyss, Squamish First Nation and Plant Diva, Kamala Todd, film director, Indigenous Plant Diva Mary Holms, Coordinator of the Urban Aboriginal Community Kitchen Garden Project+++
Again, much more comprehensive information on this wonderful film fest can be found at the
Stone Soul Film Festival blog.
Happy viewing!
