Planet in Focus
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2015) |
 Planet in Focus Festival Logo | |
| Opening film | November 21, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Closing film | November 24, 2013 |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario,  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 |
| No. 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, Ontario, 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
- ^ Anderson, Jason (16 November 2014). "Planet in Focus has some unexpected pleasures". Toronto Star. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "York U has deep roots in Planet in Focus film festival". yFile. York University. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ a b Knight, Chris (11 October 2011). "Electric cars & German stars at Planet in Focus filmfest". National Post. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d Rearson, Kiva (23 September 2011). "Planet in Focus Announces 2011 Lineup". Torontoist. Retrieved 19 October 2015.