Posted by Greg Clow in contests, events, events upcoming, films, news and media on October 18, 2007 at 12:03 am
The 8th annual Planet in Focus International Environmental Film and Video Festival (whew, that's a mouthful!) kicks off next Wednesday, October 24th for a five day run. One of the largest events of its kind in the world, the festival will feature screenings of over 80 documentaries, dramatic features, shorts, animated films and experimental works that "celebrate, question, and establish varied ways of viewing the state of our world".
As you might guess from the fact that we're mentioning the festival on Taste T.O., a lot of the films in this year's line-up are focussed on food and agriculture. Some of the food-related festival highlights are listed below - but first, we have a contest!
The folks at Planet in Focus have provided us five pairs of tickets that are good for admission to any screening at the festival. If you would like a chance to win a pair, send us an email at pif@tasteto.com with your name and the title of one of the food-related films screening at Planet in Focus this year. Deadline for entries is 12:00 noon on Tuesday, October 23rd, and the five winners will be notified on Tuesday afternoon. The winners' names will be at the box office of both festival venues (The Royal Cinema and Innis College) and will allow the winner and a guest entry to any festival screening of their choice.
Read on for information about a few of the films that will be screened at the festival...
The Island Project
(Thursday, October 25th - 7:00 PM - Royal)
During the summer of 2006, chef Michael Stadtlander journeyed on his biodiesel/solar powered kitchen bus, The Liberator, with his family and a group of apprentices from his farm in Ontario heading west to Vancouver, Quadra and Cortes Islands, in British Columbia. He was returning to the province that nurtured and inspired his early days as a chef in Canada. In each locale he encounters artists, farmers, oyster cultivators, environmentalists and loggers dedicated to environmentally sustainable business practices and the bounty of their islands. In plein-air dinners made with locally raised and foraged ingredients he lavishes his local guests with the delectable creations of his edible art. You will wish you were there.
Fridays at the Farm
(Saturday, October 27th - 11:00 AM - Innis)
Most of us don't think twice about the chemicals being sprayed on our food, but the Hoffmann family does. Through a personal visual diary of his experience on a community farm, filmmaker Richard Hoffmann examines the natural practice of food production. Using a digital still camera, Richard took roughly 20,000 pictures of vegetables and herbs, insect life, and human activity on the farm with the hope of staying connected to the food he and his family eat. Fridays at the Farm is a cinematic portrait of organic community farming and the enrichment of life for all those who participate in such practice.
Il Giardino: The Gardens of Little Italy
(Saturday, October 27th - 3:00 PM - Innis)
Red ripe tomatoes, fresh green basil and sweet bell peppers can all be found growing in the historic Toronto neighborhood of Little Italy. A rich assortment of produce provides for generations of families, as these gardens quietly humanize the populous urban landscape. The diversity of food grown in the gardens of little Italy mirror the diverse communities of people who have immigrated from other countries and have settled into the area. To many, these gardens grow the roots that help sustain ones culture, land and community.
Sludge Diet
(Sunday, October 28th - 3:00 PM - Innis)
Some call it poison, others hail it as environmentally friendly. Who’s telling us the truth about Fertile Residual Material (FRM) aka sludge and who’s lying? The foods that we eat are mostly produced on land fertilized by digester sludge containing dangerous substances. The consequences have been disastrous so far and most feel that governments need to ban its usage instead of regulating it. The continued use of sewage sludge in agriculture and regulating its use to prevent harmful effects on soil, vegetation, animals and man - is an ongoing debate.
Visit the Planet in Focus website for a full list of screenings and ticket information.
