Projecting Change Film Festival highlights

Credit: Projecting Change

Projecting Change

Vancouver’s third annual Projecting Change Film Festival opens local dialogue on global issues, April 22-25

The annual Projecting Change Film Festival started as a labour of love, but in just three years has attracted plenty of high-profile attention. This year, the festival offers 20 short and feature-length films that explore environmental and social issues—from water rights to poverty to organic farming to world peace—as well as events for kids and 18 speakers, including David Suzuki and Sea Shepherd‘s Paul Watson.

Festival executive director Colette Gunson tells Granville what to expect from Canada’s only environmental and social issues film festival, which kicks off today, April 22, 2010, otherwise known as Earth Day, at Fifth Avenue Cinemas.

Tickets sold out last year, so don’t delay!

Secret City: What’s new for this year’s festival?

Colette Gunson: This year we have a film and speaker lineup that is bigger and better than ever. We also have several directors in attendance and a world premiere—a pretty big deal for a small festival! Since the majority of the Projecting Change films are about environmental and sustainability issues, we decided to launch on Earth Day.

Which films are you most excited about?

We are very excited to be showing the world premiere of Water on the Table, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Liz Marshall that asks, “Should water be considered a commodity—like Coca-Cola or running shoes—or a human right, like air?” This will be Friday, April 23 at 9:15 p.m.
 

Garbage Dreams, an award-winning film that was shortlisted for the Academy Awards, will show on Saturday at 5 p.m. It is a beautifully shot story about three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo.

Tell us about the speakers.

Each film will be followed by a speaker, or panel of speakers, to help bring a local angle to the issues addressed in the film. Following Fresh will be a panel of food experts discussing ways to make our food system more sustainable, including FarmFolk/CityFolk and restaurant entrepreneur Harry Kambolis.

On Sunday night, David Suzuki returns for a second year along with Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson to speak after our closing night film, Pirate for the Sea.

We will also have several directors in attendance, including Peter Byck (Carbon Nation) and Ron Colby (Pirate for the Sea).

Is the festival family-friendly?

Yes! On Saturday morning, we’re showing What’s On Your Plate?, which is all about kids and food politics. Rocky Mountain Flatbreads’ school facilitator/nutritionist will lead an interactive discussion designed to connect kids with food growing, shopping, cooking and tasting.

Friday, April 23 is Youth Day and all screenings are $5. Chemerical—about a family who decides to live toxic-free for three months—plays at 10 a.m., followed by a workshop on how to make your own natural cleaning and personal care products. At 12:45 p.m., we’ll screen a series of environmental shorts featuring stories of how youth are making a difference.

What other events will be happening during the festival?

Friday at 3:30 p.m., we are inviting local business owners and their employees to a special screening of So Right, So Smart followed by a panel discussion on sustainable business and a networking event.

Our Opening Night Gala takes place at Upholstery Arts and will feature a silent auction with great prizes, including a Piaggio Fly scooter, a raw food bar catered by Organic Lives, and refreshments from Barefoot Wines and Granville Island Brewing.

Our closing night gala includes the film Pirate for the Sea, a panel discussion with David Suzuki and Paul Watson and an afterparty at Nu restaurant.