Documentary films change minds, reach hearts, and create change. Good Pitch has been using documentaries to bring organizations together into powerful coalitions for over 12 years in 15 different countries. Over 3,200 organizations have attended Good Pitch worldwide, creating a network of foundations, NGOs, campaigners, academics, philanthropists, policymakers, brands and media.
produced by
Klabona Keepers
Directed by Tamo Campos & Jasper Snow Rosen
“First they took the children from the land, now they take the land from our children."
The Klabona Keepers are a group of Indigenous land protectors in northern BC. The community there has an intimate history with residential schools, and a complex relationship with the mining companies that sustain their small economy with jobs but simultaneously destroy their legally held ancestral land. Despite that, this small group of leaders, elders and youth from the Iskut community have successfully prevented two major mining companies – Shell Oil and Fortune Minerals – from exploiting their land, which includes some of the most precious natural resources in Canada. Tl’abane, also known as the Sacred Headwaters, and the surrounding Stikine has been a significant natural area at the centre of Tahltan Nation’s culture for thousands of years.
For the past twelve years, the Klabona Keepers have blockaded roads, shut down camps, and created such immense public pressure that not one, but both massive companies have pulled their mining operations, with Shell Oil relinquishing its mining tenures, preventing the land from becoming an open pit coal mine dotted with natural gas wells. The Keepers want to share their fight against the powers arrayed against them, show it is possible to prevail... and how.
CURRENT ATTENDEES
Amanda Stastook - Associate Director Advancement, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change, York University
Amy Huwang - Program Manager, Canadian Heritage
Bridgitte Taylor - Strategic Grantmaking Manager, MakeWay
Brooks Arcand-Paul - Vice President, Indigenous Bar Association
Dave Secord - Principal, Barnacle Strategies
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger - Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action
Farhan Umedaly - Principal, VoVo Productions
Garry Anaquod - Special Projects Coordinator, Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre
Hillary Predko - MES Candidate, Canada’s Waste Flow, Queen’s University
Ivan Thompson - Senior Advisor, MakeWay
John McDonnell - Executive Director, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Ottawa Valley Chapter
Judy Wilson - Secretary-Treasurer, Union of BC Indian Chiefs
Kanina Terry - Indigenous Relations Coordinator, Local Food and Farm Co-ops
Kim Hardy - Program Lead, MakeWay
Kirby Muldoe - Indigenous Engagement, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust
Lori Campbell - Director, Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre
Martha Stiegman - Assistant Professor, York University, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change
Max Lindley-Peart - Founder, Cedr Design & Consulting
Michael Mann - Creative Director, Hovercraft Studios
Nathaniel Glickman - Educator, Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Nikki Skuce - Director, Northern Confluence
Rick Coe - Buckman Coe Music
Rob McCauley - Cebador, Guayakí Yerba Mate Co.
Sadia Zaman - CEO, Inspirit Foundation
Shannon McPhail - Executive Director, Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition
Susanna Redekop - Communications Coordinator, Local Food and Farm Co-ops
Susan Smitten - Executive Director, RAVEN
Teri Snelgrove - Producer, National Film Board of Canada (BC & Yukon Studio)
WHAT PLEDGES WERE PREVIOUSLY MADE AT OUR LIVE EVENT?
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, Shannon McPhail
Communications and outreach support at regional level including logistical and travel planning. Outdoor movie screen system for next 2 years. $60,000 from multiple sources including Wilberforce, Leonardo DeCaprio, and Patagonia. Offer to build stone monument on Mount Klappen.
Threshold Foundation, Christopher Fleck
Pledged $12,000.
LUSH soaps, Deena Guffei
Support $15,000 towards Outreach.
Air North Airlines, Ben Ryan
Pro-bona flights/cargo in NWT and Yukon.Free flights to Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna for fundraising.
Nick de Pencier & Jenn Baichwel
Gyro-stabilized footage of Sacred Headwater. Pledged $1000 toward post production and festival strategy.
Fast Signs, Paul LeBlanc
$300 worth of printed material.
Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, Wendy Levy
Project consultations and mentorship.
Patagonia, Sarah Ebe
$12,500 for outreach.
United Nations, Jon Herbertsson
Offered introduction to UNESCO to consult on making Sacred Headwaters world heritage site.
National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association
Willing to use mailing list to promote film and messaging through their mailing list.
Wilderness Committee, Peter McCartney
Host a screening.
Cool World, Kat Dodds
Offered in-kind consultation from her film team and consultants.
Individual Pledges
Donation of $6500 from Tara Cullis
Donation of $5000 from Laurie Watt
Donation of $500 from Karyn Strickler
