Planet in Focus

Planet in Focus

Planet in Focus Festival Logo
Opening film	November 21, 2013
Closing film	November 24, 2013
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada Canada:
Founded	1999 by Mark Haslam
Awards received	2007 Green Toronto Awards: Leadership, 2008 Green Toronto Awards: Environmental Awareness
Awards	Eco Hero Awards, Mark Haslam Award, Best Green Pitch, Best Canadian Short, Best International Short, Best Canadian Long, Best International Long.
Hosted by	Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival
Number of films	100+
Festival date	November 21–24, 2013
Language	International
Website	http://www.planetinfocus.org/

Planet in Focus is an Environmental Film Festival based in Toronto, Canada.

History

Planet in Focus is an incorporated not-for-profit environmental film organization founded in 1999, by Festival Director Mark Haslam.^[1][2] They are affiliated with the Planet in Focus Foundation, a registered charitable organization. They are currently run by a volunteer Board of Directors and a small permanent staff including the Artistic Director Kathleen Mullen going into her 4th festival and Anne Mark the Program Development Manager in her 10th year at Planet in Focus. Planet in Focus operates year-round to produce the annual Environmental Film Festival every October as well as national and international film touring programs and a summer youth video production camp.

Their Honorary Patrons are the scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster, Dr. David Suzuki and philosopher, environmental activist and eco-feminist Vandana Shiva.

2012

Award Winners

Best Canadian Short Film - The Pipe Dreams Project directed by Faros Des Roches and Ryan Vandecasteyen

Best Canadian Short Film Honourable Mention - Spokedirected by Lulu Wei

Best Canadian Feature Film - Occupy Love directed by Velcrow Ripper and produced by Ian Mackenzie and Nova Ami

Best Canadian Feature Film Honourable Mention - Lost Rivers directed by Caroline Bacle and produced by Katarina Soukoup

Best International Short Film - HOT & BOTHERED (UK) directed by Giannina Lasalvia

Best International Feature Film - Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth directed by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black

The Mark Haslam Award - Rainforest: The Limit of Splendourdirected by Richard Boyce

The Mark Haslam Award Honourable Mention - Just Do It! directed by Emily James

The Green Pitch Award - Honey For Sale directed by Amanda Strong

The Green Screen Award sponsored by Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund - Warehouse 13, Honorable Mention, In Organic We Trust directed by Kiplin Pastor

Canadian Eco-Hero - Jennifer Baichwal

International Eco-Hero - James Balog

2011

Award Winners

Best Canadian Short Film - Nanameskueu (Tremblement de terre) directed by Réal Junior Leblanc

Best Canadian Feature Film - Waking the Green Tiger directed by Gary Marcuse

Best International Short Film - Carbon for Water directed by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez Abramson

Best International Feature Film - There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho directed by Briar March

The Mark Haslam Award - Keepers of the Water directed by Ayelen Liberona

The Green Pitch Award - Carpe Diem directed by Charlotte Engel

The Green Screen Award sponsored by Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund - Score: A Hockey Musical directed by Avi Federgreen, Honorable Mention, Powerful: Energy for Everyone directed by David Chernushenko

Canadian Eco-Hero - Kevin McMahon

International Eco-Hero - Ric O'Barry

Toronto Premieres

Urban Roots directed by Mark MacInnis

On Coal River directed by Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood

La Reine Malade (The Ailing Queen) directed by Pascal Sanchez

Waseya Dizihin directed by Kevin Papatie

White Water, Black Gold directed by David Lavallee

The Clean Bin Project directed by Grant Baldwin

L'Homme de glace (Ice Philosophy) directed by Melanie Carrier and Olivier Higgins

There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho directed by Briar March

Darwin directed by Nick Brandestini

Solartaxi: Around the World With the Sun directed by Erik Schmitt

Waking the Green Tiger directed by Gary Marcuse^[3]

Spoil directed by Trip Jennings and Andy Maser

Canadian Premieres

Revenge of the Electric Car (Opening Night Gala Presentation) directed by Chris Paine^[4]

The Whale (Closing Night Gala Presentation) directed by Suzanne Chisholm^[4]

Future of Hope directed by Henry Bateman

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga" directed by Werner Herzog^[3]

Silent Snow: The Invisible Poisoning of the World directed by Jan van den Berg and Pipaluk Knudsen-Ostermann

Der Tag des Spatzen (Day of the Sparrow) directed by Philip Scheffner

Enjoy Your Meal!:How Food Changes the World directed by Walter Grotenhuis

L'Or des autres (The Gold of Others) directed by Simon Plouffe

Powerful: Energy for Everyone directed by David Chernushenko

Leonids Geschichte (Leonids Story) directed by Rainer Ludwigs

Second Nature: The Biomimicry Evolution directed by Guy Lieberman

The Polar Explorer directed by Mark Terry

Last Stand on the Island directed by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez Abramson

To Reveal the Fourteen Windows directed by Christina Battle

Cowboys in India directed by Simon Chambers

Le White (White Houses) directed by Simona Risi

North American Premieres

Up in Smoke directed by Adam Wakeling

World Premieres

Portrait of Resistance: The Art & Activism of Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge directed by Roz Owen^[4]

The Past as Future directed by Ton van Zantvoort

From Chernobyl to Fukushima: A Campaigner's Journey directed by Aube Giroux

Brick by Brick: The Story of the Evergreen Brickworks directed by Catherine Annau^[4]

Niger River: A River Under Siege directed by Bernice Notenboom

Carbon for Water directed by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez Abramson

On the Line directed by Frank Wolf

2008

Toronto Premieres

Blue Gold: World Water Wars directed by Sam Bozzo

Peace with Seals directed by Miroslav Novak

Boreal Forest Expedition directed by Nick and Lindsay Bradford-Ewart

Northland: Long Journey directed by Edie Steiner

Chasing Wild Horses directed by Matt Trecartin and John Wesley Chisholm

Howser in Peril directed by Tom Prior

Death in the Forest directed by Gordon McLennan

Being Innu directed by Catherine Mullins

Waste = Food directed by Rob Van Hattum

Addicted to Plastic directed by Ian Connacher

Umbrella (film) directed by Du Haibin

Birth of the Smoked Meat directed by Jeanne Pope and Zoe Mapp

Tableland directed by Craig Noble

Papiroflexia directed by Jaoquin Baldwin

The Poet of Grappa directed by Stefano Scarafia

Flowers of Rwanda directed by David Muñoz

Intestines of the Earth directed by Barbier Olivier

Gimmie Green directed by Isaac Brown and Eric Flagg

Mama Coco: The Sacred Leaf directed by Felix Atencio-Gonzales

Rallco, a Bad Business directed by Nicholas Garcia and Xavier Vasqué

Pick me Up directed by Andrea Bussman

Gates of the Arctic directed by Rory Banyard

Canadian Premieres (2008)

Our Wonderful Nature directed by Tomer Eshed

Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist directed by Norman Lofts

Heron Pond: A Boardwalk View directed by Cade Bursell

Eviction directed by Terra Schnoor

Terra Sacer directed by Alberto Guevara, Elysee Nouvet

A Massacre Foretold directed by Nick Higgins

The Beggars in Addis Arabia directed by Jakob Gottschau

Paradise- Three Journeys in this World directed by Elina Hirvonen

The Sacred Food directed by Jack Pettibone Riccobono

My Inventions directed by Robert Holbrook

Global Food: Once Upon a French Fry directed by Pierre-Olivier François

Land of Writers directed by Silvio Ciuccetti

Slow Food directed by Vanja Ohna

Greina directed by Villi Hermann

On Relations directed by Jorge Acebo

Roaming Around directed by Brigette Bertele

Fighting Goliath- Texas Coal Wars directed by Mat Hames

Charcoal Traffic directed by Nathan Collett

Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Impact of War directed by Alice and Lincoln Day

Where Do They Go? directed by Julianne Becker

The Right to Survive- Turtle Conservation and Fisheries Livelihoods directed by Rita Banerji, Shilpi Sharma

The Squid Daddy’s Labour Room directed by Ke Chin Yuan

Today the Hawk Takes One Chick directed by Jane Gillooly

We Belong to this Country directed by Alison Leonard

One of the Last directed by Paul Zinder

Fate of the Lhapa directed by Sarah Sifers

Sounds of the Seas directed by Volker Barth

The Last Nomads directed by Andrew Gregg

Eternal Mash directed by Catherine van Campen

Journey of a Red Fridge directed by Lucian and Natasa Muntean

Strange Homeland directed by Jens Schanze

Boomrang directed by Daryoush Gharibzadeh

One Water (documentary) directed by Ali Habashi and Sanjeev Chatterjee

Justice Now directed by Martin O’Brien, Robbie Proctor

Alethea directed by Petra Holzer, Ethem Ozguven

Crossed Wires directed by Elida Schogt

The Green Dragon directed by Caroline Harrison

Digital Cemeteries directed by Yorgos Avgeropoulos

Crabs on the Road directed by Gabriela Dominguez

Atlantis Approaching directed by Elizabeth Pollock

This Much I Know directed by Bridget Hanna

A Moment of Clarity directed by Sarah Cowhey, Louise Davidson

If Man Could Fly directed by Yael Kipper Zaretzky

Ma’rib directed by Rainer Komers

Farms Without Farmers directed by Jessica Weisberg, Benjamin Thorp Brown

The Hunger Season directed by Beadie Finzi

Are There Still Any Shepherds directed by Jorge Pelicano

North American Premieres

Begging for Change directed by Dave Jones

Alchemy directed by Eva Bakkeslett

Showdown at the Top of the World directed by Yorgos Avgeropoulos

Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines directed by Tristan Loraine

49 Words for Snow directed by Yorgos Avgeropoulos

World Premieres

Driven By Vision directed by Michael McNamara

The Falldown directed by Ben Graeme

Tales of a Yellow Bike directed by Tina Hahn

Soldiers of Peace directed by Timothy Wise

Breadmakers directed by Yasmin Fedda

Return to Nepal directed by Robert Lang

Thirst directed by Gail Maurice

References