March 22nd, 2012

  • World Water Day, MINT AnniversaryThursday March 22nd, 7:00 PM - Royal Ontario Museum

    Anniversary Screening at ROM

    Celebrate MINT's One Year Anniversary at the Royal Ontario Museum

    Stunning ONE NIGHT ONLY photographic exhibition of Great Bear Rainforest hosted in Toronto with WWF-Canada

    6:30 PM - Photographic Exhibition

    7:00 PM - Pre-Film Entertainment
    Derek Forgie, Steve Houston, Dylan Bell, Suba Sankaran, Glen Alan, Jackie Richardson, Sterling Jarvis, Steve Hunter, Ted Joblin and Pete Jarvis

    8:30 PM - Intermission

    8:45 PM - Films
    Film Short: Dead Wrong (World Premiere)
    Film Short: GreenHeroes - Wangari Mathaai
    Film Short: The Moraine Can't Wait: Save the Oak Ridges Moraine
    Feature Film: The Award-winning SpOIL

    9:50 PM - Keynote Speaker
    Tony Clark - Polaris Executive Director

    10:10 PM - Panel Discussion
    Tony Clarke - Executive Director of The Polaris Institute
    Dave Ireland - Managing Director of Biodiversity for the ROM
    Mike Sprague - Producer of "Dead Wrong"
    Liz Marshall - Director of "Water On The Table"
    Debbe Crandall - Executive Director, STORM Coalition
    Mark Calzavara - Regional Organizer, Council of Canadians

    10:45 PM - Awards and Presentations

    11:00 PM - 11:30 PM - Final Viewing of Photographic Exhibition

  • Comedian: DEREK FORGIE7:00 PM - 7:10 PM

    Derek Forgie

    Actor/Activist: DEREK FORGIE

    When he's not entertaining the daily in-studio audiences at MTV Canada he somehow manages to balance a hardy diet of stand-up comedy, activism and popping up in the occasional television commercial/show. If you were to add up every time he's been a: warm-up act, DJ, comic, emcee, host, keynote speaker and actor, in front of a crowd, it adds up to a staggering 1800+ different audiences before the age of 30. Some of Derek's memorable activism efforts have been acknowledged by: Reddit.com, The David Suzuki Foundation, and The World Wildlife Fund.

  • Iconic Artist: STEVE HOUSTON7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

    Steve Houston

    Steve Houston

    Iconic Artist Steve Houston paints a series of 2 canvases centering around the evening's theme of water as the musicians and performers engage the audience. Canvass will be auctioned off at the end of the evening to raise funds for the MINT Film Festival.

    Steve is a graduate of Graphic Design from Dawson College Montreal has worked with design firms in Montreal and Toronto as as Designer and Illustrator. His Original Art has been included in exhibits at the Wellington Gallery Aurora Ontario; Canadian Music Week Toronto, Toronto Molson Indy Toronto Orchestra Toronto 2011 Season Finale featuring a live multi media painting performance, Busker Fest Toronto featuring a live multi media painting performance. Currently exhibiting at UpCountry Toronto 2011

    Steven Houston enjoys working with a wide range of innovative media and subject matter. Steve's bold use of acrylics; watercolour sculpture fiberglass and mixed media pushes the boundaries of visual art.

  • Freeplay Duo & Glen Alan 7:10 PM (20 min)

    Freeplay Duo

    Opening Musical Act: FreePlay Duo & Glen Alan

    Multifaceted musicians Suba Sankaran and Dylan Bell join forces to create the FreePlay Duo. Described as “inspired eclecticism”, Dylan and Suba will take you from the concert halls of Europe, to the jazz clubs of Manhattan, to the temples of India, and back to the cultural mosaic of Toronto… all without leaving your seat. from Bach to Bird to the Beatles, Dylan and Suba effortlessly cross musical boundaries, continually combining and recombining sounds to create a concert of endless variety, with the intimate delivery of two people.

    Dylan and Suba first met in Toronto in 1993, singing in a jazz choir at York University called "Wibijazz'n'": soon after, they started directing the choir together. At their year-end concert, Dylan and Suba performed an a cappella "director's duet", and the Duo was born. What started as a typical voice-and-piano jazz duo began to evolve: more instruments were added, and more musical styles explored, to create a duo unique in its musical depth and variety. Imagine Simon and Garfunkel crossed with a Bach 2-part invention... or an acrobatic jazz melody combined with ancient Indian solkattu... or an 8-part vocal arrangement created by two singers, right before your eyes... and you'll get a glimpse of what the Duo has to offer.

    The FreePlay Duo's uniquely diverse concert program has taken them across Canada and around the world, with stops in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden and India. Their self-titled debut album was released in May 2009.

    Partners offstage as well as onstage, Dylan and Suba delight in exploring music together, and in bringing this joy to audiences worldwide.

    Glen Alan

    Toronto singer and songwriter Glen Alan will join Suba and Dylan to sing 2 songs - Sarah Harmer's Escarpment Blues and an original composition of Glen's entitled Amazing Guy. As a songwriter over the past 20 years Glen has written many songs; some comical or inspirational, others bringing attention to important environmental or social themes. Glen shares these insights through the use of provoking lyrics and catchy melodies, engaging and uplifting audiences through his own distinct sonic signature.

    In addition to being the executive director of the MINT Film Festival Glen Alan is founder of Find A Way. Find A Way is a music school, recording studio and entertainment service provider. For more information on Glen Alan and Find A Way please visit www.findaway.ca.

  • PRE-FILM PERFORMANCE 7:30 PM (45 Min)

    CONCERT Featuring JACKIE RICHARDSON, STERLING JARVIS and STEVE HUNTER

    CONCERT Featuring JACKIE RICHARDSON, STERLING JARVIS and STEVE HUNTER

    JACKIE RICHARDSON (VOCALIST)

    A dazzling performer, Richardson has a powerful and supple voice and a warm, vibrant stage presence. The music of Jackie Richardson is an experience of soul, a profoundly personal synthesis of the remarkable gospel, blues and jazz women she has embodied on stage and screen. Jackie grew up in Richmond Hill which she still considers her hometown.

    2004 Dora Mavor Moore Winner for Best Female Principal role in a Musical for Cookin' at the Cookery: The Music & Times of Alberta Hunter. Richardson has received Gemini, Dora, Juno, Jessie, Betty, Toronto Blues Society and NAACP Award Nominations.

    STERLING JARVIS (VOCALIST)

    Sterling Jarvis is an accomplished actor and singer whose theatre credits include The Lion King, Crowns, Of Mice and Men, We Will Rock You, The Overwhelming and Ruined for which he received a Dora Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was most recently seen on stage in the musical Caroline or Change. Some of his television and film appearances include Perfect Strangers, The Eleventh Hour, The West Wing, Felicity, The Sentinel, 'Til Death Do Us Part , The Bridge, The Border, Covert Affairs, Life With Boys and most recently, Lost Girls. He has sung anthems for the Blue Jays, the Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs. His voice can also be heard on many commercials for TV and radio as well as singing the themes for the popular kid's shows Zaboomafoo and Donkey Kong Country. Sterling can be seen on stage in the upcoming production of Clybourne Park at the Berkeley St.Theatre.

    STEVE HUNTER (KEYBOARDS)

    Steve's career has been a juggling act between the studio, jingles, theater and clubs. Highlights include Etta James, Petula Clark, Bobby Vinton, Little Anthony, Joan Rivers, Emmylou Harris, David Clayton Thomas and TV appearances with Donny Osmond, Chet Atkins, and Colm Wilkinson on the 2005 Jerry Lewis Telethon.

    Some of the shows Steve has conducted and played on include Cats, The Phantom of the Opera (with Colm Wilkinson), Joseph (with Donny Osmond), Forever Plaid, Jane Eyre, Tommy, Blood Brothers (with David Cassidy), Rent, The Lion King and most recently, Billy Elliot. Steve has had the pleasure to work with Colm Wilkinson as his musical director/arranger for the past fifteen years and recently took part in a birthday celebration for the late Ted Kennedy's birthday celebration at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC with President Obama in the audience.

  • JUGGLER: TED JOBLIN 8:15 PM (10 Min)

    TED JOBLIN

    Originally from Parry Sound ON, Ted Joblin now lives in Nashville TN where he performs with the internationally acclaimed circus arts company Playing By Air. Specializing in Chinese yo-yo, Ted has won the Atlanta Juggling Festival's Most Spectacular Award as well as honourable mentions in the International Jugglers' Association Extreme Juggling Competition. As a founding member of Playing By Air, Ted has performed at venues such as the New York International Fringe Festival, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and Duke University. He has also appeared with Playing By Air on WEtv, and at fund raising events for The American Cancer Society, and United Way. When he's not performing, Ted enjoys cooking, running, and pushing his limits with various hot sauces.

  • THE CANVAS: PETER JARVIS 8:25 PM (6 Min)

    Peter Jarvis

    Peter Jarvis suspends the audience's grasp of physical reality as the Spandex Canvas transforms into extraordinary images that seem impossible for one man to conjure. It stretches, it dances, it spins and keeps the audience riveted by it's innovative expressions. This magical piece has won acclaim in Poland, Hawaii, and England... on the CBC, MUCH MUSIC, and YTV...and has been featured with symphonies across Canada. The Canvas has wowed audiences dancing in clubs like the GUVERNMENT, INDUSTRY and WHISKEY SAIGON.

    "Jarvis' abilities are remarkable to say the least." - The Toronto Star
    "Peter Jarvis mesmerized his audience with his unusual forms of Body Art" - The Hamilton Spectator
    "...kept the audience rivited!" - The Ottawa Citizen
    Peter Javis is "one of Toronto's most creative and energetic artist performers" - Creative Quarterly

  • SHORT FILM - DEAD WRONG 8:45 PM (10 Min) World Premiere

    Dead Wrong

    About the Film Dead Wrong: Stories of Fish, Clean Water & Poison

    World Theatrical Premiere - Filmmaker in attendance. "Native fish restoration" has become the new catch phrase for poisoning streams, rivers and lakes in order to stock more desirable, fish species. Thirty-eight states and most provinces in Canada allow it.

  • SHORT FILM - WANGARI MAATHAI 8:55 PM (5 Min)

    WANGARI MAATHAI

    WANGARI MAATHAI (1940-2011) FOUNDER OF THE GREEN BELT MOVEMENT

    Presented by: The GreenHeroes Campaign

    Just when Wangari Maathai thought no one was listening to the message of her organization, The Green Belt Movement, she received a surprising call – she had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The first environmentalist ever to be recognized with this honour, Wangari realized "that the world was listening".

    Wangari initiated The Green Belt movement in Kenya, a program in which groups of women are paid to plant trees, proving advantageous for both the environment and the women.

    The movement set off the United Nations One Billion Trees Campaign. Each year, the campaign aims to have one billion trees planted worldwide. In 2004, the Nobel committee awarded Wangari with the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Kenya.

    "The honor was not just for me. It was also for the thousands of women who planted 30 million trees throughout Kenya as part of the Green Belt Movement."

  • SHORT FILM - THE MORAINE CAN'T WAIT 9:00 PM (5 Min)

    THE MORAINE CAN'T WAIT

    The Moraine Can't Wait: Save the Oak Ridges Moraine

    The Oak Ridges Moraine, southern Ontario’s rain barrel and one of Canada’s most heavily used groundwater sources, is under threat from multiple environmental assaults. Help STORM, Earthroot's and Ontario Nature take action to push for permanent protection for the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Moraine Can't Wait!

  • FEATURE FILM - SPOIL 9:05 PM - 9:50 PM (45 Min)

    Spoil

    SPOIL

    Directed By: Trip Jennings

    Produced by EP Films and iLCP

    iLCP teamed up with EP FIlms to create a documentary that tells the story of the threats facing the Great Bear Rainforest and the continued efforts of the First Nations communities and conservations groups to protect this wild landscape.

    About the Great Bear Rainforest RAVE

    The International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) has teamed up with Pacific WILD, the Gitga'at First Nation of British Columbia, LightHawk, TidesCanada, Save our Seas Foundation, Sierra Club BC, and the Dogwood initiative to carry out a Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia. We are focusing our energy and cameras on this pristine region in response to plans by several large multinational companies to build a pipeline for heavy crude oil from the Alberta tar sands across British Columbia to the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.

    The tar sands in northern Alberta are arguably one of the world's most environmentally-devastating extractive industries and the proposed pipeline would put one of our planet's most ecologically- sensitive and intact marine ecosystems at risk for a catastrophic oil spill through increased mega tanker traffic.

    The 14-day expedition to the Great Bear Rainforest called upon 7 world-renowned photographers and 3 videographers to thoroughly document the region's landscapes, wildlife, and culture. The RAVE provided media support to the First Nations and environmental groups seeking to stop the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline project (and thus expansion of the tar sands) and to expose the plan to lift the oil tanker ship moratorium.

    News and Updates on the film

    SPOIL premiered at Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City California January 2011.

    Awards

    • Best Environmental Film, Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
    • Nominated for the Telluride Mountainfilm 2011 Moving Mountains Award
    • Best Long Film Award at the Coastal Film Festival judged by First Nation Youth
    • Merit Award for Musical Selection, Best of Craft, Best Photography, Best Environmental Film (Category Winner) at CINE 2011
    • Best Environmental Film, Artivist Film Festival 2011
    • Best Human Interest award, Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival 2011

  • Keynote Speaker: TONY CLARKE 9:50 PM (20 Min)

    Derek Forgie

    TONY CLARKE

    Tony Clarke is the founder and executive director of the Polaris Institute, which assists civil society organizations, both in Canada and internationally, to develop new strategies and tools for challenging corporate power and influence in public policy making on social ane ecological justice issues. One of the main programs at the Institute has to do with water issues such as the privatization of water services, bottled water and bulk water exports. Through this program, Polaris works with citizens' groups, public service workers and social movements who are engaged in frontline struggles on these water issues in Canada and the United States, plus other countries in the global south. Internationally, Tony has been a keynote and panel speaker at conferences on water issues in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. He is the author and co-author 10 books, including Blue Gold: The Corporate Theft of the World's Water [2002 with Maude Barlow], which has been published in 47 countries. In 2 08, he organized a challenge to policy makers on the issue of bulk water exports from Canada to the US with the public release of his document called 'Turning on Canada's Tap?'

    At the same time, Tony has coordinated Polaris' campaign activities in making bottled water a major issue of water justice in North America and elsewhere. His book, Inside the Bottle: Exposing the Bottled Water Industry [first published in 2005 and then revised and updated for republication in 2007] has been a ground breaking initiative. Recognizing that bottled water is the cutting edge of water privatization in our society, he has actively guided the development of the Polaris' program in building community resistance to bottled water in schools, campuses and municipalities, plus organizing related legislative and corporate campaigns. The objective of this campaign has been to establish 'bottled water free zones' one space at a time. In doing so, he has worked closely with counterpart groups in the United States and Mexico, as well as Canada, to develop campaigns on bottled water issues on a more continental basis. The Spanish version of Inside the Bottle, called Embotellados, was released in May, 2009.

  • Panel Discussion 10:10 PM (40 Min)

    Panel Discussion

    Tony Clarke - Executive Director of the Polaris Institute

    Tony Clarke is the founder and executive director of the Polaris Institute, which assists civil society organizations, both in Canada and internationally, to develop new strategies and tools for challenging corporate power and influence in public policy making on social ane ecological justice issues. One of the main programs at the Institute has to do with water issues such as the privatization of water services, bottled water and bulk water exports. Through this program, Polaris works with citizens' groups, public service workers and social movements who are engaged in frontline struggles on these water issues in Canada and the United States, plus other countries in the global south. Internationally, Tony has been a keynote and panel speaker at conferences on water issues in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. He is the author and co-author 10 books, including Blue Gold: The Corporate Theft of the World's Water [2002 with Maude Barlow], which has been published in 47 countries. In 2 08, he organized a challenge to policy makers on the issue of bulk water exports from Canada to the US with the public release of his document called 'Turning on Canada's Tap?'

    At the same time, Tony has coordinated Polaris' campaign activities in making bottled water a major issue of water justice in North America and elsewhere. His book, Inside the Bottle: Exposing the Bottled Water Industry [first published in 2005 and then revised and updated for republication in 2007] has been a ground breaking initiative. Recognizing that bottled water is the cutting edge of water privatization in our society, he has actively guided the development of the Polaris' program in building community resistance to bottled water in schools, campuses and municipalities, plus organizing related legislative and corporate campaigns. The objective of this campaign has been to establish 'bottled water free zones' one space at a time. In doing so, he has worked closely with counterpart groups in the United States and Mexico, as well as Canada, to develop campaigns on bottled water issues on a more continental basis. The Spanish version of Inside the Bottle, called Embotellados, was released in May, 2009.

    Dave Ireland - Managing Director of Biodiversity for the Royal Ontario Museum

    Dave Ireland is Managing Director of Biodiversity Programs at the ROM, and is in charge of the organizational development, education and outreach programming and long-term planning of the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity. Dave holds a B.Sc. in biology from Mount Allison University and a M.Sc. in ecology from Trent University.

    Liz Marshall - Director of the film "Water On The Table"

    Canadian filmmaker Liz Marshall has created award winning and socially relevant projects since 1994. She has devoted herself to a range of global issues that include: the right to water; HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa; the rights of girls in developing countries; censorship affecting writers and journalists; war-affected children; corporate globalization; sweatshop labour, and refugees.

    Her work combines a poetic, character-driven approach with a strong commitment to social justice. She has directed independent, broadcast, and NGO documentaries throughout the world.

    In addition, Liz has created a body of arts-based shorts, music videos and music documentaries featuring acclaimed dancers and musicians. She is also a passionate 35mm format film photographer.

    Michael Sprague - CEO of Trout Headwaters Inc. and Producer of Dead Wrong

    Michael Sprague is president and founder of Trout Headwaters, Inc., (THI) an aquatic design/build firm and CEO of THI's sister technology company, THI RiverWorks, Inc., both based in Livingston, Mont. Through his two companies Sprague has helped to advance sustainable river restoration technologies, becoming a leader in the field of stream bank biostabilization. THI takes a multidisciplinary approach to habitat creation, restoration and enhancement services for a broad range of private and government clients. Sprague has taught training courses and workshops on the topics of innovative restoration and standardized assessment methodologies for such organizations as IECA, New York State Wetlands Forum, Arkansas Multi-Agency Wetland Planning Team, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    Michael Sprague is also the producer of Dead Wrong: Stories of Fish, Clean Water & Poison. "Native fish restoration" has become the new catch phrase for poisoning streams, rivers and lakes in order to stock more desirable, fish species. Thirty-eight states and most provinces in Canada allow it. Read more: www.stopriverkilling.org

    Debbe Crandall - STORM Executive Director

    Debbe Crandall has been involved with Save the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition since 1990, joining the organization as a volunteer board member in response to "old boy politics" in her hometown. She has been STORM's Executive Director since 1999 and represented STORM on a number of provincial initiatives concerned with landscape-scale conservation planning and regional growth management issues. Debbe was appointed to the Oak Ridges Moraine Advisory Panel in 2001, which developed the framework for Oak Ridges Moraine legislation, the Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel in 2002, the Greenbelt Council in 2006 and was a two-term chair of the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation.

    She has a B.Sc. with a major in geology and is working on her MES at the University of Waterloo. Debbe worked as a hydrogeological consultant in western Canada during the early 1980s but found the exploitative nature of consulting not to her liking. Debbe is a long time resident of Caledon, Ontario walking along the same little creek where as a child she built forts and conversed with faeries.

    Mark Calzavara, Regional Organizer (Ontario/Quebec/Nunavut)

    Mark, the Council Of Canadians Regional Organizer for Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut is pleased to join MINT's post-screening discussion on Water.

    Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's largest citizens' organization, with members and chapters across the country. The Council works to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.

    The Council Of Canadians develops creative campaigns to put some of the country's most important issues into the spotlight. Working with a network of over 70 volunteer chapters to organize speaking tours, days of action, conferences and demonstrations. The Council produces research reports, creates popular materials, and works with individuals and organizations across the country and around the world. All of this is done to ensure that governments know the kind of Canada we want.

    The Council of Canadians does not accept money from corporations or governments, and is sustained entirely by the volunteer energy and financial assistance of its members.

© 2025 MINT Film Festival. The MINT Film Festival is made possible through the generous financial support of Find A Way