The Peel Project
Toronto Premiere | CANADA | 2016 | 67 min
Filmmakers: Calder Cheverie & Anthony Wallace
Emcee: Michael Charbon
Live Music: Anthony Wallace & Friends
Guest Speakers: Calder Cheverie (filmmaker), Anthony Wallace (artist/filmmaker), Aurora Darwin (artist), Jason LaChappelle (CPAWS-Yukon)
Co-presenter: JAYU Human Rights Film Festival
Shorts | Xelaltxw | Downstream | Mining the Mother Lode
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After the films, use your ticket again for the OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION.
Can Canada’s last pristine river watershed be saved from development?
Six artists paddle into the pristine beauty of the Peel River Watershed, in the rugged Yukon and Northwest Territories. Not only does the film, and the art inspired by the journey, capture the beauty of the landscape, wildlife and culture of one of Canada’s last intact watersheds, it serves as a canvas to understand a larger struggle.
A war is being waged between those who want to develop this immense water system and those who want to protect its delicate ecological balance – especially the First Nations who view it as their land’s lifeblood and a support for its teeming wildlife. The movie has its Toronto premiere a week after the Supreme Court is expected to rule on how much of the Peel Watershed will be protected.
Before the screening, we enjoyed original music created and performed live by musician Anthony Wallace and friends. Talk with the artists and filmmakers after the film. Then, join us at our Opening Night reception to view more Peel River Watershed-inspired art.
After the film we had our Opening Night Reception, at the Centre for Social Innovation, 720 Bathurst (2 blocks from the cinema).
Short films screening with The Peel Project
Xelaltxw
World Premiere | CANADA | 2016 | 7 min
Filmmaker: Jeremy Williams
The Xelaltxw (aka Halalt) First Nation is fighting a corporate giant, a pulp mill that has destroyed their estuary and prime shell fish feeding grounds on the coast of BC. Can their law suit hold this company to account? Xelaltxw is a David and Goliath story of a small indigenous community standing up to a pulp mill that has desecrated their fishing grounds.
Downstream
World Premiere | CANADA | 2016 | 6 min
Filmmaker: Jeremy Williams
Huge mine tailings dams – like the one that burst at the Mount Polley Mine in 2014 – pose a serious risk to the health of British Columbia's most important salmon watershed: the Fraser River. These massive dams are holding back increasing amounts of mine waste mixed with water, and some mines are even permitted to release effluent directly into waterways. The health of the region's people and world famous salmon runs are at stake. It's time to ban risky tailings ponds and clean up BC's mining industry.
Mining the Mother Lode
Canadian Premiere | USA | 2016 | 8.5 min
Filmmaker: H. Paul Moon
Combining epic western landscapes with poetry recitation, Mining the Mother Lode is an agrarian lament on wasted resources, our culture of consumption, and brokers who trade on our most precious resource: water.
