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Land of Oil and Water
Director: Warren Cariou and Neil McArthur, Canada, 2008, 44 minutes
World Premiere. Filmmakers in attendance.
Underneath the woods and the muskeg of northern Canada lies roughly
two trillion barrels of oil. It is fifteen percent of the world’s
known reserves and six times more than what’s left in Saudi Arabia.
Land of Oil and Water follows the journey of Warren Cariou,
a Métis writer from northern Saskatchewan, who learns that the
oil companies from Alberta are expanding into his homeland. Now
living in Winnipeg, Cariou talks to people in the area about their
hopes and fears about the development. He crosses the border to
Alberta to speak with aboriginal communities who have experienced
the development. They continue the struggle to preserve their
traditional way of life in the midst of the largest and most destructive
oil recovery operation the world has ever known.
Cariou records this journey on film so everyone can see the magnitude
of the oil sands mines. As a writer, he considers depicting it
in a book, but realised it wouldn’t have the same impact as a
visual depiction of the people and places we see up close in the
film.
Cariou also wanted the local Métis and First Nations to tell
their own stories about living near this massive development.
In his words, "much has been said about the oil sands by
outside commentators, scientists, and politicians, but few outsiders
have ever taken the time to listen to the people who call this
place home." Speaking with intelligence and insight, community
members share differing opinions and experiences — some positive,
some negative — letting us make our own minds up about the effects
of the oil sands.
Neil McArthur is a professor at the University of Manitoba, where
he specialises in the history of European philosophy and literature.
He was born in Regina and spent part of his childhood in northern
Saskatchewan. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern
California. His feature film Out of the Way premiered
at the 2006 Calgary International Film Festival. He is a member
of the Winnipeg Film Group and has trained in film and video production
through the WFG and SAW Video (Ottawa). His book David Hume’s
Political Theory was published in 2007 by the University
of Toronto Press.
Warren Cariou grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan and has worked
as a construction worker, a technical writer, and a political
aide. He now teaches Aboriginal Literature at the University of
Manitoba, where he is Canada Research Chair and Director of the
Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Traditions. He is of Métis,
German and Norwegian heritage, and his writing explores the relationships
between Native and non-Native communities in Western Canada. His
first book, The Exalted Company of Roadside Martyrs: Two Novellas
garnered rave reviews, and his memoir Lake of the Prairies
won the Drainie-Taylor Prize and was nominated for the Charles
Taylor prize.
PRECEDED BY
Terra Sacer
Alberto Guevara and Elysee Nouvet, Canada, 2008, 17 minutes
Over 100,000 Nicaraguans suffer ill effects of exposure to the
pesticide Nemogon, through their work at banana farms. The film
introduces a group of these former plantation workers who are
camping out in Managua to draw attention to the health problems
they are experiencing. No longer able to work and looking for
compensation, the workers feel abandoned by the government as
they struggle with disease and unemployment.
Filmmakers in attendance
Community Partner
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