17 October 2008 -
TORONTO — Singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn's journey to Nepal is the subject of a movie premiering at the ninth annual Planet in Focus film fest.
Over 100 environmentally focused films and videos will be screened at the festival running from Oct. 22 to 26.
"Return to Nepal," directed by Robert Lang, tracks the Ottawa-born Cockburn's trip to the country where he witnesses the effects of climate change.
The festival's spotlight program on food includes "Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist," a look at the controversial Ontario dairy farmer and his legal troubles related to the production of unpasteurized milk. A panel discussion - "In the Name of the Public Good?" - follows the film.
Films dealing with displacement and migration include "The Beggars of Addis Ababa," about women from northern Ethiopia; "Paradise - Three Journeys in This World," about illegal migrants from Mali who come to Spain; and "Eviction," about indigenous communities in Guatemala forced out of their ancestral land by the Canadian mining company Skye Resources.
The closing gala is "Are There Still Any Shepherds?" a Portuguese movie about a way of life that is in danger of fading away. The final day will also see the screening of "Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines," a British film that explores how passengers and crews may have been subjected to unfiltered noxious air in airlines for almost 50 years.
Films will be screened at Toronto's Royal Cinema, Gardiner Museum, Bata Shoe Museum, Innis College and the Royal Ontario Museum.
~ from the Canadian Press
17 October 2008 -
Return to Nepal has been invited to screen at the Banff Mountain Film
Festival, November 1-9, 2008. Screenings will take place during the afternoons of Saturday November 8th and Sunday November 9th. For further
details, visit the Banff Mountain Festivals.
~bobbi wisby