This week Prince George residents can view a host of documentary films during the fifth annual Travelling World Community Film Festival.
The films will take viewers near and far into captivating journeys of both animals and humans, said Jovanka Djordjevich, a festival organizer.
It's not called a "travelling festival" for nothing, said Djordjevich, explaining the films begin at 7 p.m. daily at different venues in the city.
"This year the Prince George Public Library is providing the lunch time venue with show times at 12:05 p.m. through March 25. Evening movies continue through March 27 in venues such as Farmer's Market Annex, Connaught Youth Centre and the public library.
"The film festival is an opportunity to use film to help connect Prince George audiences to world issues," said Djordjevich.
"Since the festival runs through the Spring Break, it's a great opportunity for parents to introduce teenagers to documentary films and issues that will affect them long into their future."
Today's film, Dirt! at the library explains how floods, drought, climate change and war can relate to the fate of humble dirt. Evening films at Farmer's Market Annex , 1119 Third Ave., include Split Estate, in which drilling for natural gas brings about erosion of both civil liberties and communities, and Water on the Table explores Canada's relationship to its fresh water supply, a most valuable resource.
Wednesday's film at the library, called Green, is about an orangutan which is a victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. Evening films at Farmer's Market Annex include Vanishing of the Bees which exams the alarming disappearance of honey bees and possible effects on the earth and humankind, and Chemerical, a look at the effects of products used to clean homes and bodies.
Thursday offers The Remaining Light at the library, a look into aging and a system of seniors' care in crisis. Evening movies at Artspace are Total Denial, revolving around construction of an oil pipeline in Burma and the common practice of slave labour in that country, and Oil In Eden which centres on the Great Bear Rainforest and proposal to bring an oil pipeline and super tankers to its fragile and rugged coast.
Friday offers In Transition at the library, telling of a transition movement by communities to respond to climate change. Evening movies at Connaught Hill Youth Centre include Reel Injun, an insightful look at the Hollywood Indian through a century of cinema, and Schooling the World, which looks at modern education in the destruction of the world's last indigenous cultures such as the Ladakhi people in the Himalayas.
Saturday's three evening films at Farmer's Market Annex offers The Dark Side of Chocolate, which suggests illegal trafficking of children as young as seven are doing the heavy labour in the cocoa fields on the Ivory Coast which produces 40 per cent of the world's cocoa.
Fresh is a new look at the problems and consequences of industrialization as relating to the food system, and A Thousand Suns tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique views and skills of the people of the region.
Sunday's films at the library begin at 1:30 p.m. with Dirty Business, a documentary revealing the social and environmental cost of coal power which accounts for half the electricity in the U.S., and Laughology, an actual study of how people are wired to laugh together as well as the discovery of incredible health benefits of laughter.
Ticket prices vary from festival passes to a day pass to student discounted passes or a lunch hour pass. Tickets are available at Books and Co. or Sassafras Savouries, 4158 George St.
Film schedule and descriptions are online at www.booksandcompany.ca or on Facebook at 2010 Travelling World Community Film Festival.
