Stephan Koester’s The Tale of the White Whale (Saturday, October 4, 2:00 p.m.) tells a story that many Dutch and German people will remember from the 1950s, having experienced it themselves or heard it from their parents or grandparents. In 1952, a Canadian White Whale being shipped to a zoo in England fells overboard into the north Atlantic. This amazing animal entered the Rhine at Rotterdam and swam all the way to Berlin, winning the hearts of the people along the way and raising public awareness of the pollution in the river. Stephan Koester is an acclaimed German director and cinematographer who began his career as an assistant to Rosa von Praunheim.

The Planet in Focus (PIF) festival includes stimulating discussions and workshops that seek to engage the public. Other themes showcased this year include Environmental Racism, Indigenous People and Mining, Toxics and Health, Art and the Environment, and International Development; special programmes for Children, Youth and Families; and a workshop on Media Skills for Environmentalists.

PIF’s 2003 line-up includes films and videos from Australia, Austria, Canada, Cameroon, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Namibia, The Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The festival screens a diversity of genres – feature film, short drama, animation, and experimental works – a testimony to the artistic creativity of engaged filmmakers working with environmental themes.

A complete PIF schedule is available at www.planetinfocus.org . The festival box office opens on September 2, 2003. Passes and individual tickets can be reserved by calling (416) 531-8985. Festival passes are $40.00 and individual tickets ($10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors/students, and $3.00 for children under 12) will also be available at the screenings.

PIF is Canada’s only annual, international environmental film and video festival. Its mission is to promote the use of film and video as catalysts for reflection, discussion and appropriate action on the ecological and social health of the planet.

See also:

The Planet in Focus - David Suziki