Written by Denise Deby. Thanks to Ottawa Riverkeeper for information.
The Ottawa Riverkeeper is presenting its 2nd annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival. This year the festival is on Thursday, February 20, 2014.
It promises to be an evening of beautiful, compelling and adventure-filled short films that show the importance of nature and encourage its protection. The films are:
- STAND (Canada, 2013), a stand-up paddle adventure through the Great Bear Rainforest that looks at people’s determination not to lose the cultures and ecosystems there to the proposed pipeline;
- Young Voices for the Planet, Olivia’s Birds and the Oil Spill (USA) about an 11-year-old who uses her artistic talents to raise funds to rescue birds from the Gulf Coast oil spill;
- Of Souls + Water – Shapeshifter (USA), “the mesmerizing journey in northern Quebec of one of the world’s most accomplished kayakers and his connection with water;”
- Cascada (USA, 2013), “a hunt for the perfect waterfall;”
- Streams of Consequence (USA, 2012), on efforts to protect two Chilean rivers from proposed dams and to identify alternative energy models;
- Facing Climate Change: Oyster Farmers (USA, 2013) on two farmers’ experience of climate change;
- New Environmentalists, The Supply Chain (USA/China, 2012) on a website created to provide Chinese citizens with air and water pollution data in order to hold corporations accountable;
- and the world premiere of We Should Tell Them (Canada, 2014), a documentary about three teenagers who decide to explore the Ottawa River and learn about the challenges facing it, and what they can do. The film features Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown, and the film’s director and producer Laurent Imbault will speak at the screening.
The evening includes a display of photos by underwater photographer David Finlayson. The Ottawa Riverkeeper, Meredith Brown, will attend, and Alan Neal of CBC Radio One will host. There’ll be a silent auction, door prizes and a raffle, as well as Bridgehead coffee and a cash bar. Prizes include a Stand Up Paddle group lesson for six from Paddlefit and a private boat cruise for 10 passengers from Au feel de l’eau.
The festival runs 7-10 p.m., with doors open and festivities starting at 6 p.m., at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington St. $15 general admission. Tickets are available here until 3 p.m. February 20, then at the door.
Proceeds support Ottawa Riverkeeper’s initiatives to protect the Ottawa River—the source of our drinking water as well as recreation and other ecological benefits—and will include the purchase of water quality test kits for the Riverwatch Program.
The Wild and Scenic Film Festival is the largest film festival in North America focused entirely on environmental documentaries. Through stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography and first-rate storytelling, the films inform, inspire and ignite solutions to restore the earth, build strong communities, and create a positive future for the next generation.”
For more information about the Ottawa festival and the wonderful work of the Ottawa Riverkeeper, visit ottawariverkeeper.ca.
Green Living Ottawa 