East Coast Cat
I am a big fan of Rob Stewart's work. He had me at Sharkwater. His latest film shows beautiful footage of some of the world's amazing living things, and then the not so beautiful as well, such as Alberta's oil sands. Stewart is very humble in his approach, acknowledging the importance of holding yourself accountable for environmental impacts, and he definitely does not leave his own impact out of the equation. The best feature of this film is that it is highly empowering for youth. As an educator, I highly recommend taking your students to see this film. Our school took every kid from grade five through eight to see it before it even hit theatres. It is potentially in theatres for only a few weeks so go now before it is too late.
Matt Hanson
Before the film began, the audience was told that Rob Stewart was on his way over to do a post-screening Q&A with us. The film screened: Revolution. Expertly photographed, with Rob Stewart himself at the helm of the cinematography. This is an important documentary that gives unfiltered voice and expedient agency to the voice of youth all around the world. Felix Finkbeiner and a young Lebanese woman (I'm unable to remember her name) were two among many who brought me to such wellsprings of emotion as I have never felt. The grandchildren of the world are fighting for the survival of their grandchildren. As Rob Stewart told me in my February interview with him: "In the past the people affected by a destructive culture were the ones who moved to resolve it, for slavery it was the blacks, for women's suffrage it was women. Now, youth are facing the greatest social challenge. Youth have not drunk the Kool-Aid so to speak, they don't rationalize they just do what needs to be done. We are eating their future."The striking beauty of the cinematography featured in this film is a testament to the way in which Rob Stewart and many others featured in this film might view the ocean: with such vivid and lucid beauty. The ocean is the lifeblood of all life on Earth.Revolution brings into a very clear focus, as clear as possible, the incredible efficacy of the multi-tiered project of global awareness, whether from the leading environmental scientists, or public demonstrations, everyone has an integral role to play in the fight for human survival on this gorgeous planet. We can change, because we are changing. The question is not whether or not we should change, the question is, what direction to we want to go in?Canada, and more specifically Alberta, is home to the most destructive industrial resource project on Earth, the Tar Sands. It is no wonder Rob Stewart chose Alberta as a focus-group to preview his film, as Alberta is exactly where the change in direction needs to occur. As the "godfather" of coral and former chief scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Charlie Veron, said in the film: the only way to that we can avoid increased ocean acidification, which is the cause of most major extinctions in the history of life on planet Earth, is to stop burning fossil fuels. Canada, home to Greenpeace and other environmentally-savvy networks, has been the recipient of the Fossil Award, given to the nation which has most hindered global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, 5 years in a row.Through an insightful look at sharks, flamboyant cuttlefish, and the Canadian lynx, Rob Stewart takes us on a narrative journey into the depths and heights of evolutionary progress, and how the will to live is our greatest asset as inheritors of the great and mysterious onus called life in this universe. We must realize that our responsibility as living beings is to reciprocate, or we will get exactly what is coming, without exception, regardless of our being a singular species of unrivaled capacity, we are not invincible to extinction.Soon there will be 7 billion people on Earth, yet non-renewable resources are consumed exponentially. Canada has no energy policy. During a conversation before the screening with George Melnyk, professor of literature, film and Western Canadian identity at University of Calgary, he said: "I'm in my sixties, and I've spent most of my life in Canada under Liberal federal governments. Since 2006, under the minority Harper government and now the majority Harper government, so we're talking like seven years, we have moved much more clearly towards a partisan position, meaning that we support a group of nations, a group of people that want to act a certain way in the world, we don't want to stand away from that a little bit, right? So that balance being partisan and trying to be non-partisan, that has now disappeared. We're very military-oriented. The experience in Afghanistan has been completely wasted."An increasing number of people bear the brunt of starvation, while trillions are spent to wage what is fast becoming the longest war in modern history (Afghanistan) and bail out indebted banks. "The scientists have done their job, now it's time for the politicians to do theirs," says an interviewee in Revolution.At the end of the film, Rob Stewart told us about the many awards the film has already received, he was glowing with optimism. Revolution is due to appear on more screens than any other documentary in Canadian history. One hand raised came down to a more pessimistic tune. To that, Stewart simply responded that it is usually the people who are not doing anything who are pessimistic, the people who are actually involved in helping to make positive change are optimistic.For the last question, my hand went up like lightning. He took my question; what I had been waiting to ask for months since our private phone conversation would see the light of day in front of a full crowd at the university theater: "What is the biggest thing that makes you optimistic every day?" I asked. I remembered the way I felt after I first spoke to Stewart; crushing powerlessness. He responded something to the tune of: What makes me optimistic everyday is observing life itself, and how life has survived. I think that especially now when we are bombarded by over-consumptive habits in the use of technology, finding meaning in helping to save ourselves and the Earth is the greatest source of fulfillment that we need right now.Revolution opens in theaters everywhere April 12. See my full film review/reflection story on Media Co-op
