Enrbidge Inc.’s controversial proposed Northern Gateway pipeline will be in the spotlight at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival this Wednesday evening, beginning at 7:30 pm (doors open 6:30) at North Vancouver’s Centennial Theatre (2300 Lonsdale Ave).
The evening will feature four compelling documentary films from the past year – White Water, Black Gold, Tipping Barrels, The Pipedreams Project, and On the Line – each offering a unique perspective and artistic approach to the issue of pushing Tar Sands bitumen through BC’s landscape and coastal waters.
A similar event last year drew a packed house of 800 to the Centennial Theatre – click here to see some highlights.
I will have the privilege of MC’ing this year’s event, titled “Sacred Headwaters”, which will also feature appearances by several of the filmmakers.
Two of the films on the program are short documentaries that involve outdoor adventures through the waters of the Great Bear Rainforest – the site of proposed supertanker traffic carrying Tar Sands bitumen from the port of Kitimat, the terminus of the would-be pipeline from Alberta. The First of these, Tipping Barrels, is a recently-released film that follows two surfers, Arran and Reid Jackson, soaking up big waves and the spectacular fauna and flora of the Great Bear. Meanwhile, The Pipedreams Project documents the two month journey of a pair of young kayakers’ along the proposed tanker route down BC’s rugged coast.
The evening will also feature a pair of feature films – extreme adventure filmmaker Frank Wolf’s On the Line and David Lavallee’s White Water, Black Gold. Both films are also journey stories. On the Line follows the voyage of Wolf and his friend, hiking, cycling and paddling the entire 1,100 km proposed pipeline route from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat. White Water, Black Gold “follows David Lavallee on his three year journey across western Canada in search of the truth about the impact of the world’s thirstiest oil industry.”
These four films offer compelling human stories and a spectacular visual feast of BC scenery as the backdrop for a vital discussion about a project that threatens to irrevocably change the very nature of these special places.
Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door.