CANADA’S NEW GREEN POSTER BOY
Toronto director to launch doc across Canada
It’s not easy spearheading a revolution.
Even when he is presenting his film, the aptly titled Revolution, to a crowd of like-minded supporters, director-activist Rob Stewart tends to be put under a good deal of pressure.
In Calgary to offer a sneak-peek of the documentary a few weeks back, the environmentalist was asked by audience members to provide on-the-spot solutions to exceedingly complex problem during a post-screening Q&A. The questions came fast and furious and, for the most part, so did the answers.
What can be done to promote research into renewable energy? Try taking some of the taxpayer dollars that support big oil companies and use it to research harnessing the power of the sun, Stewart offered.
How do we get developing nations to become more environmentally friendly? Use the notion of climate debt, where the developed world is actually in debt to third-world countries for all the resources it has extracted and pays it down with green technology.
And finally, what do we do about Alberta’s oilsands?
“I don’t entirely know the answer to that one,” Stewart said, prompting a few groans from the audience. “It’s a massive system in place there, so I don’t know exactly what we are going to do about that but I think you should dedicate your life to it.”
The Q&A seemed to nicely sum up Stewart’s attack plan: Travel from town-to-town screening the movie, educate audiences and, finally, let them take up the fight them- selves. Revolution hits screens on Friday in what is expected to be the largest opening of a documentary in Canadian history, which Stewart hopes will eventually help fund the film’s travels to other parts of the world. Building on the success of his debut Sharkwater, Stewart has big plans for Revolution. He wants one billion people to see it worldwide. And, yes, the one-time chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation, wants nothing short of a green revolution.
In the film, Stewart visits 15 countries to examine what he and a cast of scientists claim are putting the earth in peril: damage to the coral reef in Papua New Guinea, deforestation in Madagascar and, hitting close to home, the massive oilsands projects in northern Alberta. The overlying threat, the film argues, is the acidification of oceans, a process that has caused mass extinctions before in earth’s history and is currently resulting in numerous “dead zones” in the oceans.
Unlike some activists that simply question the speed and size of the development, Stewart’s take on the oilsands certainly leaves little room for debate.
The film is quite adamant about the best solution to addressing what it calls the “the most destructive environmental project in history” and it’s not particularly nuanced. Activists should be encouraging the government to shut it down.
“We went all over the world, only to find out that one of the biggest environmental problems is here in Alberta,” Stewart said, in an interview with the Herald prior to screening the film.
“So in a time when we know carbon emissions cause ocean acidification, which has caused four out of the five mass extinctions in the past, we’re still emitting mass amounts of carbon dioxide and promoting a high-carbon lifestyle.
“So we thought it would be really important for Canadians to know about ocean acidification, because it’s the biggest environmental issue on the planet today, and to know that we are a part of it and have to do something about it.”
Having this sort of message delivered to multiplexes across Canada will no doubt have the spittle flying among Alberta’s oilindustry supporters.
But they will be going up against someone who has proven remarkably effective in getting his views out there, particularly to young people.
Revolution not only chronicles environmental problems, but offers a glimpse into a worldwide movement of protest and grassroots activism that is generally being spearheaded by youth.
And with his cameraready good looks, self-deprecating sense of humour and penchant for offering rapid-fire environmental details in a confident manner, Stewart is quickly becoming a powerful poster boy for the green movement among young people.
He appears on the cover of Tribute Magazine this month, shirtless and sporting shades, amid stories about Abigail Breslin, The Great Gatsby and “young Hollywood.” Along with his two films, he has written 2007’s Sharkwater: An Odyssey to Save the Planet and 2012’s Save the Humans.
His website offers stepby-step instructions for how fans can become ambassadors for the film and the message.
It all conveys an all-ornothing message of urgency.
“We wanted to make sure we gave people a giant, entertaining journey,” he says.
“So Revolution is the story of life. We follow life as a character for 3.5-billion years and five mass extinctions that almost wiped life off the planet, culminating in humans in the midst of a revolution to save our future. We focus on our life-support system. It’s life that gives us our food and water and our air.”
The Toronto-born Stewart said he was made aware of the bigger picture during promotional duties for Sharkwater, a documentary that chronicled the slaughter of sharks to service the shark-finning industry.
… I’m making movies because it’s the way I can change the world the
most ROB STEWART
The film exposed the wastefulness and corruption that surrounded the increasing demand for shark-fin soup.
Thanks to the financial success of Sharkwater, getting funding initially wasn’t difficult.
At first, Stewart had $5 million worth of investor’s money.
Revolution was going to be in splashy 3-D. But then the filmmaker attended an environmental rally in Ottawa.
“I was throwing my fists in the air saying ‘We don’t just need Priuses and recycling and environmental policy, we need a revolution. We need to change everything,’ ” he says.
“All the money fell away. The revolution thing is a big, bold concept. It can be scary for some people.”
Still, for now, Stewart admits that film is a perfect medium to get the message across.
But, for all the film premieres, magazine covers and adventures that filmmaking has afforded him, he insists it’s the message that motivates him above all else.
“Filmmaking is amazing and I’m super blessed and excited to be in this profession,” he said. “But I’m making movies because it’s the way I can change the world the most.”