The Refugees of the Blue Planet

Canada, 2006, 53 min.
Dir: Helen Choquette, Jean-Philippe Duval
Prod: Monique Simard, Luc Martin-Gousset, Yves Bisaillon, Marcel Simard
French and English / English subtitles
Time: 7 pm
Date: Thursday, March 1
Metro Cinema
Citadel Theatre Complex 9828-101A Avenue

NFB Webpage for film

Colin Soskolne - special guest speaker
Click here for Dr. Soskolne's web page.

Environmental refugees out number political refugees - some 25 million environmental refugees compared to 23 million political.

Each year, millions of people the world over are driven to forced displacement. From the Maldives to Brazil, and even closer to home, here in Canada, the disturbing accounts of people who have been uprooted are amazingly similar. The enormous pressure placed on rural populations as a result of the degradation of their life-supporting environment is driving them increasingly further from their way of life. The Refugees of the Blue Planet sheds light on the little-known plight of a category of individuals who are suffering the repercussions of this reality: environmental refugees. They are constantly growing in number and often have no legal status, even though their right to a clean and sustainable environment has been violated.

To kick off Global Visions new era of ACTIVE CINEMA we are delighted to present Dr. Colin Soskolne as guest speaker for this film.

Colin Soskolne, Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Alberta has worked with the World Health Organization on numerous projects, including reports on Global Ecological Integrity and Sustainable Development. Recently, Dr. Soskolne received a grant for the study of climate change and extreme weather in Alberta. After 31 years in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa, he moved to North America. Here, he has devoted much of his life to the issues of professional ethics in his field.

Click here for more info on Colin Soskolne's work.

Click here to read the film review in the current issue of Vue Weekly.