Reel Green™ at Vancouver International Film Festival 2022   

The 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival takes place from September 29th – October 9th.  The annual Vancouver International Film Festival showcases exceptional cinema in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Our spectacular roster includes some of the best cinema from around the globe, talks, conferences, live performances and other unique events that celebrate film and film culture. Join Reel Green™ at the 41st Vancouver International Film Festival in this Industry Talk: 

The Filmmaker’s Influence in the Time of Climate Change
Presented by Reel Green™ at Creative BC 

Canada’s motion picture industry is taking the lead on green initiatives through production practices and reducing carbon emissions. Meet filmmakers who are using their roles to cultivate and tell stories on screen with underlying themes of environmental sustainability. This panel takes you through implementing intersectional climate themes from the early stages of development and the influence subject matter has over audiences. 

Date: October 1, 2022 
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm 
Venue: VIFF Centre – Vancity Theatre 

Moderator:  
Smiely Khurana 

Smiely Khurana is the Reel Green™ Sustainability Lead at Creative BC, supporting and connecting Reel Green’s expanding community of engagement through the implementation of Reel Green’s strategic plan, deepening industry’s expertise and use of the tools, further transforming production practices through the Clean Energy municipal collaboration, and work to help industry transition to a circular economy.  

With a background in Motion Picture Arts and Business Marketing from Capilano University, Smiely has worked on a number of productions in a wide range of positions, from producing, accounting, digital marketing, and most recently as a sustainability coordinator. Throughout the years, Smiely’s passion and involvement in environmental sustainability has allowed her to lead discussions and keynotes in universities, global conferences, and host a successful podcast The Sustainable Act with Smiely Khurana.  

Smiely also sits on the Board of Directors for Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation, connecting her passion for parks and nature with community building and fundraising. 

Speakers:

Am Johal 

Am Johal is Director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement and Co-Director of SFU’s Community Engaged Research Initiative. He has additional affiliations with SFU departments including Graduate Liberal Studies, Centre for Dialogue, Labour Studies and the Institute for the Humanities. He has been on the boards of the Vancity Community Foundation, Bloom Group, Indian Summer Arts Society, 221A, the Or Gallery and the City of Vancouver’s Arts and Culture Committee. He is the co-author of ‘Global Warming and the Sweetness of Life: A Tar Sands Tale’ with Matt Hern and Joe Sacco.

Liz Marshall

An award-winning Canadian filmmaker who has written, directed, produced and filmed multiple impactful documentaries around the globe since the 1990s, Liz Marshall’s current documentary Meat The Future (2021), chronicles the birth of the “cultivated meat” industry through the eyes of a visionary CEO, Dr. Uma Valeti. Proposing a game-changing solution towards a sustainable climate future, Meat The Future is narrated by Dr. Jane Goodall, executive produced and with music by Moby.

Liz Marshall helped to open our eyes to the inhumanity of animals exploited for food, fashion, entertainment, and research with her 2013 critically acclaimed film The Ghosts in Our Machine, featuring the work of animal rights photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur; Midian Farm (2018) unearths Liz’s formative family history about an Ontario-based 1970s back-to-land social experiment. Water on the Table (2010) chronicles the human right to water amidst a global water crisis following Maude Barlow’s appointment as U.N. Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the 63rd Session of the United Nations.

More speakers to be announced soon! 
Learn more about the VIFF Talk here
RSVP for the free VIFF Talk here
Buy VIFF 2022 tickets here
Learn more about Reel Green™ here
Discover Reel Green™ training and tools here