Another Environmental Movie Event: Breathtaking on April 4th

A new movie by Canadian film-maker Kathleen Mullen will be shown in the auditorium of the Ottawa Public Library (120 Metcalfe Street) at 7pm on Monday April 4th. The screening is free and there will be a panel discussion after with the Director, Kathleen Mullen and special guests.

Breathtaking takes on the asbestos industry through a moving and personal investigation into the death of Kathleen’s father from Mesothelioma, and the confounding present-day use of asbestos that continues to exact a human toll. Valued since pre-history and commercially mined since the Industrial Revolution, asbestos was nicknamed the ‘magic mineral’ for its fabric-like properties and its capacity to protect against fire, and was used in everything from brake pads to oven mitts. After it was discovered to be carcinogenic, asbestos use was banned from use in many countries and limited in others. But Canada, along with Russia and several other countries, still mines asbestos and exports it for use in developing nations.

With moving clips of her dying father’s legal testimony, family photos, and Super 8 home movies as a narrative springboard, Mullen takes the audience on an investigative journey from her family’s home in British Columbia to Quebec, India and Detroit, painting a global, yet still personal picture of the many lives affected by the continued use of asbestos.

Monday, April 4, 7:00 PM
Breathtaking: a personal investigation into the present-day use of asbestos
Auditorium of the Ottawa Public Library, 120 Metcalfe – OTTAWA
Admission free

For more information contact through gmail with the address of breathtakingfilm or see the website: www.kathleenmullen.com/breathtaking

This special screening is co-presented by the Ottawa &a p; District Labour Council (ODLC) and the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) and supported by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Canadian Building Trades, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), Women’s Healthy Environments Network and Prevent Cancer Now (PCN).