STORY TO ACTION is our flagship program, and includes training and mentorship to support four Canadian documentary filmmaking teams to create strategies, build partnerships and organize screenings designed to educate and expand audience understanding of the social and environmental issues featured in their films.
BEFORE THEY FALL
First Nations, conservation groups, and scientists have been fighting to protect the remaining old-growth forests in British Columbia for decades, but the conflict escalates when a logging company tries to access the last unprotected ancient watershed on southern Vancouver Island. Land defenders block the road to and hundreds of thousands join them. A telling illustration of decades of indigenous disenfranchisement, Before They Fall tells the story of Fairy Creek and points to the Indigenous voices calling out for defense of the land.
COEXTINCTION
After the mother orca Tahlequah carries her dead calf for 17 days, Indigenous leaders and scientists make a desperate attempt to save the last 73 Southern Resident orcas from extinction. Coextinction takes audiences deep into the interconnected web of ecosystem collapse on the frontlines of the Pacific Northwest’s most pressing environmental threats. It spotlights the connections between fish farms, pipelines, dams, and centuries of injustice against Indigenous peoples and makes it clear that no species goes extinct in isolation.
HER LAST PROJECT
Dr. Shelly Sarwal was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy and chose to undergo Medical Assistance in Dying - MAID. Shelly dedicated the short time she had left to educate the public about personal agency and leaving a legacy of organ donation. Her Last Project opens the door to conversations about life, death, and dignity, and what that means in our society.
QUINN
QUINN is a deeply personal documentary about the twists and turns of gender exploration, and the importance of love and support. "Nothing stays the same," states young adult Quinn as they strive to find a place in a society that is fixed on boxes and labels.
