New TVO documentary Trouble in the Peace charts one man's fight against the energy industry, March 13 at 9 pm
TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2013 /CNW/ - On Wednesday March 13 at 9 pm, TVO presents the world broadcast premiere of the TVO-commissioned, point-of-view documentary Trouble in the Peace. Produced by Six Island Productions and directed by Hamilton-born filmmaker Julian T. Pinder (Land), the film follows the story of a fifth-generation farmer who takes an unusual course of action against the big gas company creeping in on his remote farming community of Peace River in northern British Columbia.
In B.C., over 60 per cent of annual revenues come from natural gas, and most of the gas fields are found in the Peace River Valley, home to 50,000 people. When a two-headed calf is born on the farm of Karl Mattson, an enigmatic and reclusive cowboy, he realizes something is disturbingly wrong. Amid the homesteads and small family farms, gas leaks and flarings from boom-and-bust drilling installations are killing livestock and impacting residents' health.
While his neighbours protest the industry invasion and petition for change, the only efforts which seem to attract media and government attention are those of an unidentified pipeline bomber. Karl can't bring himself to join fellow community members in their ill-fated lobbying, but feels compelled to act in the only way he knows how for the sake of his four-year-old daughter Hollis and his fractured community.
"We often think that it's in developing nations where communities are rolled over by multinational corporations that extract natural resources, pocket the profits, and leave little behind for the local population but pollution and lasting ill-health effects," says Trouble in the Peace director Julian T. Pinder. "This film brings the issue close to home. Karl Mattson represents a human side to the story: a Canadian surrounded by a Goliath. As our need for energy grows, we'll have to ask ourselves at what ultimate cost it will come."
Trouble in the Peace will be rebroadcast Wednesday March 13 at midnight, Friday March 15 at 10 pm and Sunday March 17 at 11 pm. The documentary will be available for on-demand viewing at tvo.org and through the free TVO Doc Studio iPad app as of Thursday March 14.
Leading up to the broadcast, viewers can check out the companion ethical game Pipe Trouble at www.pipetrouble.com, launching February 27. Produced by Pop Sandbox in collaboration with Six Island Productions and TVO, Pipe Trouble re-imagines a popular 1990s arcade classic and uses over-the-top satire to cleverly explore the two sides of the debate around energy extraction. Players are tasked with building their own pipeline, while balancing the needs of a gas company representative on a tight budget and a local farmer who has the environment and community at heart. The game allows players to witness clear connections between the actions they take and their effects.
TVO champions documentaries on air and through Doc Studio, an online showcase for documentary filmmakers and their work and a learning community supporting point-of-view filmmaking. A leader in Canadian point-of-view documentaries, TVO devotes more than half of its primetime schedule to documentaries and commissions 8 to 10 new point-of-view documentary films every year.
About TVO
TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and is a registered charity supported by sponsors and thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
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SOURCE: TVO
Media Contacts:
Angela Garde
TVO Public Relations Specialist
416.484.2600 x 2305
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