ATTENTION: TEACHERS, EDUCATORS, ACTIVISTS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS - THIS IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE AND SHARE WITH THOSE AROUND YOU!
What: Canadian Premiere of documentary feature film, Living Downstream
Where: Bloor Cinema, Toronto, 7:30 pm
When: May 18, 2010
Hosts: Co-presentation of Planet in Focus International Film and Video Festival and Women’s Healthy Environments Network
Living Downstream is now a documentary feature film
Canadian Premiere at Toronto’s Bloor Cinema, May 18th
(04/12/10) Thanks to a Canadian production team, Living Downstream, one of the most influential books of the modern environmental health movement, is now the basis of a feature documentary film of the same name. The film was made possible by Canadian director, Chanda Chevannes and produced by Toronto-based The People’s Picture Company (The PPC).
Living Downstream is an eloquent feature-length documentary that charts the life and work of Sandra Steingraber: a biologist, author, cancer survivor and cancer prevention advocate. Like the book on which it is based, Living Downstream documents the growing body of scientific evidence that links human health with the health of our environment.
Toronto has been selected as the location for the Canadian Premiere of the film, and is one of only a handful of cities across North America selected to host early screenings of the film, which will soon be available for wider theatrical release and purchase on DVD. Sandra Steingraber and Chanda Chevannes will both be in attendance at the screening and will participate in a question and answer session following the film. Signed copies of the book will also be on sale after the event.
The Canadian Premiere is open to the general public and will be attended by some of Toronto’s foremost opinion leaders and decision-makers in the fields of environmental health and education. The event is a co-presentation of Planet in Focus International Film and Video Festival and Women’s Healthy Environments Network, a Toronto-based organization that is committed to protecting human health and the health of our environment.
Part scientific exploration, part personal journey, Living Downstream follows Sandra Steingraber during a pivotal year in her life: as a biologist and author, speaking to groups across North America about cancer prevention; and as a cancer survivor, when she receives ambiguous results from a cancer screening test. The film captures this movement between the scientific and the personal which is also a hallmark of Sandra’s work.
The film closely follows the trajectory of Sandra’s life and work, but it also tracks the important progress of scientific investigation on environmental links to cancer and other health ailments. Several experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research make important cameo appearances in the film, highlighting their own findings on two pervasive chemicals: atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and the industrial compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Their work further illuminates the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.
The People’s Picture Company is an award-winning independent production company based in Toronto, Canada. The PPC aims to entertain, educate and inspire audiences with documentary films and believes in the power of media and art to create positive change in our world.
“The film follows Sandra who is on a journey,” says Chanda, “but the chemicals against which she is fighting are also on the move. We follow these invisible toxins as they migrate to some of the most beautiful places in North America. We see how these chemicals enter out bodies, and how, once inside, scientists believe they may be working to cause cancer.”
To coincide with the documentary adaptation of Living Downstream, Da Capo Press has published an updated second edition of the book (released April 2010).
Certainly, the original book inspired Chanda’s documentary, but as Sandra says, the making of the documentary also influenced her recasting of the second edition:
"In a wonderful and unexpected way, Chanda's creative decisions as a filmmaker gave me new ideas for organizing the story and scientific argument of the book as I updated its various chapters for the second edition. There was a lot of reciprocity between us. Chanda inspires me."
Advanced public screenings of Living Downstream are currently being held in select North American cities. The educational DVD of the film (for educators, activists and professionals) is now available for preorder.
For more information on Living Downstream: http://www.livingdownstream.com For more information on The People’s Picture Company, visit: http://www.theppcinc.com/
For DVD screeners or media interviews with Sandra or Chanda contact:
Kathleen O'Grady
QUOI Media Group
Mobile +1.613.897.9276
Website http://www.quoimedia.com/
Email: quoi@quoimedia.com
Twitter: @quoimedia
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