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Keepers of the Water nominated for Best Emerging Filmmaker and The Public Award at TIFF 2010

September 2, 2010

(Toronto – August 31, 2010) – In the Native town of Ft. Chipewyan, Alberta, an incredibly articulate and precocious group of 9 to 12 year-old children came together to protest the Alberta Tar Sands. And while most know very little about what experts estimate to be 13 trillion dollars in sought after profits, the native children of Ft. Chipeywan clearly have a lot to say.

Their stories come in the shape of the short documentary film, Keepers of the Water, directed by Ayelen Liberona and produced by Joseph Johnson Cami. This combative filmmaking duo seem set on taking up environmental battles. Their feature-documentary, A Grain of Sand (2009), already helped save from privatization the famed Moyenne Island – worth 50 million dollars – which now enjoys a National Park status in the Seychelles. This time, they’re armed with a 4-minute film that explores what drove these children from playground to protest.

The Alberta Tar Sands have already caused irreparable damage to the Fort Chipewyan community and their 12,000 years of history in an environment they know all too well and that can no longer sustain their traditional way of life.

It is convenient for some to disregard and attack any dissent to the Tar Sands, but it is impossible to deny the humanity that a story told through the eyes and words of children can contain. One way or another, there will be a very large environmental price to pay for our addiction to oil and the disregard we are demonstrating to one of the most precious resources on the planet: water.

Keepers of the Water is a Wandering Eye Production. For more about the film and the Tar Sands issues visit KeepersOfTheWater.com. For more about the director Ayelen Liberona visit her website.

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