Living on the Edge
A collaboration between journalist Susan Woodfine and photographer Joan Sullivan, Living on the Edge takes a look at the effects of climate change via the lives affected in Northern Quebec along the edge of the Lower Saint Lawrence Gulf.
Following a massive high tide surge in December of 2010, local residents have been struggling with how to deal with climate change, including Sullivan who proudly calls the region home. Through a combination of personal stories and interviews with experts, Woodfine and Sullivan attempt to find ways of saving a community that not too long from now could end up as part of the ocean thanks to erosion and rising waters.
The filmmaking style employed here by Woodfine and Sullivan is rudimentary at best, sometimes awkwardly assembled at worst. It might work best as a radio report from the region with connecting narration that can be played over some still photographs than as a feature. But the power Sullivan’s cinematography and still images, the facts of the situation, and the understandably saddened attitudes of those who might be forced to leave speaks volumes when placed together. It’s far from a great film, and it could stand to be more than fifty minutes long, but the intent is clear and undeniable. If nothing else it acutely showcase what this country stands to lose by way of unchecked climate change.
Screens
Saturday, November 8th, 11:00am, Nat Taylor Theatre (York University)
