Tonight I saw the hot new mockumentary The Green Chain at the film fest. The best part is that we used our 'private screening' tickets from Pat and Dan Conway's gig tonight to get past the ticket taker then re-appropriated our access rights to see this mockumentary that got started around the same time slot. To wrong the right... I offer up a nice plug:
This article was sponsored in part by Great Lakes Brewery
Comprised of 6 or so monologues about trees and their impacts on peoples lives the British Colombia, the film juxtaposes several stereo typical players in the war both for and against the large scale multinational logging conglomerates.
The First Nations logging company executive that happens to be the face of the company..... Perhaps he is starting to come to grips with why he is really there.
The logger who’s family has been in the business for 3 generations in this continent and even longer in Norway who's father has eight fingers.
The actress who 'loves trees' so much she is being flown in by the tree huggers to give a speech at the blockade. She ordered a hamburger no bun and a diet cola with 3 ice cubes at the small town diner near where the speech will be.
The wild fire fighter who's been chasing blazes since he was 16 years old to save the forests for everyone and who works at Dairy Queen dipping cones when there are no fires to chaise (salvage logging anyone?)
The wife of the wilderness forest fire fighter who is a server in a local diner who met the actress who's in town, and who knows the logger who's father has 8 fingers.
The script is tight and just so over the top you know its written but it does take a bit to discern its a mockumentary.
Both the director and the producer had come into town to do Q&A following the film. They explained the characters all embodied elements from actual people and they explained the origins of the concept behind the film.... and I am tired now and its bed time. Go see it if you like your planet.
If we are lucky the film will be out on DVD in a year.