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| Photo credit: Vincent Pietropaolo, courtesy of the NFB |
Does all the risky business of George Clooney’s The Ides of March have you hungry for more edgy and politically engaged film? If no, saunter on over to Blockbuster Rogers, rent The Green Lantern, and hang your head in shame. If yes, mosey on over to The Mayfair Theatre this Friday and snag a ticket for Wiebo’s War. Wiebo’s War is the story of Wiebo Ludwig, an Alberta farmer who discovered that his farm lay on top of one of the largest undeveloped fields of natural gas on the continent. After his family is plagued by a series of health problems and the oil industry fails to respond, Wiebo started an explosively controversial campaign to save his family.
Co-produced by 52 Media Inc and The National Film Board of Canada, Wiebo’s War examines Wiebo’s extremist efforts, which includes barricaded roads and blown-up wells. The campaign eventually resulted in Wiebo Ludwig’s arrest and conviction, as well as charges that he is an “eco-terrorist.” Does Wiebo’s stand against Big Oil make him a terrorist or a revolutionary? Moreover, the film ultimately asks viewers that, if put in Wiebo’s position, how far would you go to defend your family and your land?
Wiebo’s War has been doing well on the festival circuit the last few months: its success includes a Special Citation from the Canadian Features Jury at Hot Docs, as well as some good ink from Variety, which called it “a complex and compelling portrait of its subject.” See this hot doc when it begins its theatrical release in Ottawa this Friday (October 14th) at TheMayfair. Director David York will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screenings on the 14th and 15th. Hope to see you there!
Following its Ottawa run, Wiebo's War opens:
October 14 at the Mayfair Theatre, Ottawa (David York in attendance on October 14 & 15)
October 19 at the Winnipeg Film Group Cinematheque
October 21 at the Vancity Theatre, Vancouver
October 21 at the Plaza Theatre, Calgary
October 21 at the Metro Cinema, Edmonton (David York, Bonnie Thompson and Wiebo Ludwig in attendance on October 22)
October 21 at The Royal, Toronto (David York in attendance on October 21)
October 19 at the Winnipeg Film Group Cinematheque
October 21 at the Vancity Theatre, Vancouver
October 21 at the Plaza Theatre, Calgary
October 21 at the Metro Cinema, Edmonton (David York, Bonnie Thompson and Wiebo Ludwig in attendance on October 22)
October 21 at The Royal, Toronto (David York in attendance on October 21)
