The Hazelton Place, 111 Avenue Rd. Lower Level
Toronto, ON M5R 3J8
Friday - July 25, 2008
Meeting Registration & Networking: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Meeting & Dinner: 7:30pm - 10:00pm
Cloud South Films Presents: HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD
One Man, One Cow, One Planet
Our existence on this planet is precarious. How to Save the World exposes globalization and its mantra of infinite growth in a finite world for what it really is: an environmental and human disaster.
But across India marginal farmers are fighting back. By reviving an arcane form of agriculture, they are saving their poisoned lands and exposing the bio-colonialism of multinational corporations. How to Save the World tells their story through the teachings of an elderly New Zealander many are calling the new Gandhi.
What does an environmentally sustainable food system capable of feeding everyone actually look like?
How to Save the World is a blueprint for a post-industrial future.
This film takes you into the heart of the world's most important renaissance.
The outcome of the battle for agricultural control in India may just dictate the future of the earth.
Director's Statement:
Making How to Save the World was an eye opener. Not just the reality of India but the dawning awareness of just how precarious our existence on this planet is. Living in the comfort zone we are totally insulated from that reality.
What is it about India? One visit and you’re hooked – on all that life, on the noise and congestion, on the smells that permeate every corner of that vast land. And on the people: Their openness and willingness to engage, their sense of community and caring. And their plight: As the mantra of infinite growth in a finite world swells, as the reality
of what happens to people when they are used as a means of production finally sinks in.
But India is more than those impressions; it is possibly the centre of a new world order. A way of living that will be forced on us by the collapse of our ecosystems. When that time comes, will the self-sustaining village community become the new centre of the universe?
This project got under our skin and changed the way we viewed the world. We hope the audience will experience a little of that change.
Peter Proctor is almost 80. He has a glass eye and boundless energy. He is hard of hearing, but for him the earth sings. Peter has left behind the comforts of a life in suburban New Zealand to live and work in India. He is also quietly determined to save the world. Peter is the author of Grasp the Nettle, a practical guide to biodynamics.
Tom Burstyn CSC, FRSA, co-director, cinematographer and co-producer. Tom is a multi-ward winning, Emmy nominated filmmaker with 30 years experience as a cinematographer. He trained at the National Film Board of Canada as a documentary maker, before moving into feature films. Returning to documentaries is a return to his first love. Tom is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has dual New Zealand / Canadian citizenship For more information on Tom, including his feature film experience, go to: www.tomburstyn.com.
Barbara Burstyn, co-director, co-producer, researcher, writer is a widely published journalist, researcher and writer in New Zealand. Producing and directing socially relevant documentaries is her dream come true. A selection of her written work can be viewed at:
www.sumnerburstyn.com
Peter Coyote is an accomplished actor in more than 100 films. He is an Emmy Award winning narrator of over 120 documentaries and audio books. Peter is a Pushcart Prize winning author who has penned his own memoir, 'Sleeping Where I Fall,' and contributed to many other books and publications. As a politically engaged person, Peter has championed a multitude
of political and environmental causes. He is also a songwriter, guitarist and singer. www.petercoyote.com
