Icarus’ Jonathan Miller, Peter Mettler and I spoke yesterday and we’re really excited about this collaboration.  Icarus has some creative ideas around the launch of the film, and I look forward to bringing you the information as it becomes available.

Petropolis now has distribution deals negotiated by Autlook Filmsales in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom.

On Monday, Dogwoof and The Co-operative Group hosted a private screening that included a panel discussion with Greenpeace campaigner Charlie Kronick and I.  Packed house and great response.

Equally exciting, we got some more great reviews, including the Times of London.  Some highlights: “. . . a movie miracle  . . its nearest cinematic relative is the title sequence from The Shining. . . The high-definition depiction of open-pit mining is a rape analogy writ large. . .This, ultimately, is the film-making of ideas.”

All in all, a great trip!  Big thanks to Oli, Yung, Chris and Claire, among others.  If you happen to live in London, there’s still time to see it on the big screen.  Check out ICA’s web site.

Sandy Hunter and Spencer Tripp at the 30th annual Genie Awards

Congratulations to The Delian Mode for winning the Best Short Documentary award at the Genie Awards on April 12th! Laura Severinc, Sandy Hunter and I had a fabulous time, and my only regret is that I didn’t get to acknowledge the many people who contributed to this film in front of their peers.  Top of the list, of course, is Peter Mettler - an outstanding individual who also happens to be a creative genius.   Thanks as well to Roland Schlimme, Gabriel Scotti, Vincent Hanni, Marc Bachli and Andrew Frank.  With magic like yours, who needs a Genie?

In March, we learned that Petropolis has been nominated for a Genie Award - Canada’s version of the Oscars.  We’re incredibly excited about this honour and look forward to the awards ceremony on April 12th in Toronto.  On the evening of the 11th, I’ll be doing a live interview on Movieola as part of a Genie preview show.

Outside of Canada, we had our U.S. premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  The screening was part of MoMa’s annual Canadian Front program with Telefilm Canada.  Again, it was an honour to be picked by the museum to screen there and bring the film to an American audience.  After all, most of the oil from the tar sands is destined for U.S. consumption.

On the festival circuit, we screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and several others, and will soon appear at BAFICI: Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival.

For those in Waterloo, Ontario, I’ll close with a notice that a screening in conjunction with Princess Cinemas will be held on Earth Day, April 22nd at 7:30 pm at the Waterloo Collegiate Institute (300 Hazel Street).

Not only will you have the chance to see the film on the big screen, there will be Q+A sessions with a host of great speakers each night - including writer/director Peter Mettler and Greenpeace Canada’s Executive Director Bruce Cox.

If you didn’t get to see Petropolis at TIFF in 2009, don’t miss out this time. Tickets go on sale at the Royal half an hour before each performance (7pm each night with an extra 4:30pm screening on Sunday) so arrive early! Tickets cost $10 (general admission) $8 (students+seniors)

See you there!

Stay tuned for more information, new artwork and release dates.

Inquiries regarding the film may be directed to sarah@mongrelmedia.com

P.S. A late addition to the festival roster was the Oslo International Film Festival in Norway.  We’ve now premiered in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland!

According to Persinsala, a film industry publication in Italy, the award was deserving: “[The film] is not reduced to a statement of the tar sands, but extended to a reflection on the inhuman choices in the name of economy. . . across a worrying fresco of a world drowned in tar.”

(Note: the preceding quote is paraphrased using online translation software.  If you have a better translation, let me know!)

In November, Peter will attend the Italian (Festival dei Popoli) and Danish (CPH:Dox) national premieres, and I’ll be traveling to the UK for Sheffield Doc/Fest.  Interestingly, we’ll also screen for the first time in Alberta at the Global Visions Film Festival in Edmonton.  I’ll report back on the reception we receive there.

Here are links to November’s upcoming festivals:

http://www.festivaldeipopoli.org/en

http://www.cphdox.dk/d/a1.lasso?e=1

http://sheffdocfest.com/

http://www.globalvisionsfestival.com/

UPDATE: A late addition to the schedule is Festival O.F.N.I. in Poitiers, France. The film screens on the 13th and 19th of November. The festival’s focus this year is Canadian cinema, so they will also be screening Peter Mettler’s Gambling, Gods and LSD on the 18th.

http://www.nyktalopmelodie.org/site/index.php