From a review of The Green Chain in The Vancouver Courier from our western Canadian premiere at The Vancouver International Film Festival.
All seven characters in this docu-drama by Vancouverite Mark Leiren-Young claim to love trees—and surely they all do. But their perspectives on BC’s forestry industry vary as much as their positions in life. A second-generation logger, granny protester, underemployed firefighter, cause-championing star, naïve tree-sitter, First Nations forestry executive and long-suffering diner waitress deliver engaging monologues that lay out their views, movingly and convincingly. The technique pulls viewers into their emotional spheres, leading us to abandon presumptions or at least recognize the complexity of the situation. Standout performances include Scott McNeil as a baffled logger facing the realities of less work and fewer trees, and noted stage actress Jillian Fargey as his burdened wife, whose diner job and reflections on family and community reveal the human cost of changing times. Local up-and-coming actor Brendan Fletcher is also delightful as tree-occupying Dylan, babbling to his handicam 100 feet up a cedar. Leiren-Young’s strong and nuanced writing pinpoints these varied personalities, and his background in comedy injects levity (where appropriate) into a generally sombre subject. There may be no easy outs, the film implies, but a good debate can’t be off the mark.
-Gudrun Will
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
B.C. filmmaker explores the big tree picture
B.C. filmmaker explores the big tree picture
Katherine Monk
VANCOUVER - He's been thinking and writing about the multi-faceted relationship between people and trees since 1985, when a stint at the Williams Lake Tribune introduced him to logging communities and their unique place in the B.C. economy.
But ask playwright, filmmaker and all-purpose scribe Mark Leiren-Young what trees mean to him, personally, and he looks at the square wooden coffee table in front of him with a seeking expression.
"I'll have to think about that one for a bit," he says. "It's not a simple question... everything about trees can be read in so many different ways, and raise different questions. It can get emotional very fast."
For a dramatist, any issue that can raise emotions and political fervor in the same breath is a boon, which is why Leiren-Young first contemplated the idea for The Green Chain - his new feature film which screens at the Vancouver International Film Festival this week - more than 20 years ago in the womb of a resource-based economy.
"As a person who'd been living in Vancouver, I sort of felt like Greenpeace was in my blood," says Leiren-Young, longtime creative collaborator with the late Vancouver theatre luminary, John Juliani.
"When I first arrived in Williams Lake, my first assignment was talking to people who cut down trees. It was the first time I actually heard the logger's perspective and it became very clear to me at that point that no one in the whole forestry debate was listening to each other."
Leiren-Young says a chance meeting with John Wiggers, the former chair of the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, confirmed his interpretation of the big tree picture and that's when everything came together.
"It was so weird, because here I'd been looking for this guy - and I ended up sitting next to him on a plane. I never talk to people on the plane, and for some reason, I started talking to the man next to me - and it was the man I'd been looking for."
Realizing fate was cooperating with the creative venture, which was originally conceived as a radio or TV script that Leiren-Young and Juliani could produce on a limited budget, the next step was finding the right structure and approach.
"It was important for me that we explored the issue in as many dimensions as possible," he says. "There were so many voices that needed to be heard, and so that's where I started: I wanted to let those voices speak for themselves, so originally, I had six characters who all spoke about how much they love trees."
The six characters eventually grew into seven, once Leiren-Young realized he had no First Nations voice, and The Green Chain moved ever closer to camera.
"When I worked on Articles of Faith (a play about the Anglican Church's blessing of same sex unions) with John (Juliani) he stopped a performance of the play half way through and asked the audience if they thought the play was skewed in a particular direction. Only two people - one from each side - felt the play was biased. Everyone else in the audience thought it was fair," he says.
"I wanted to find the same balance for Green Chain... and that all came down to the voices. I figured if I got the voices right, I'd be able to explore the issue in a way that felt honest. I felt everyone deserved to be represented."
The result is a movie that features seven monologues from a variety of tree-loving types - including a logger and an environmental activist.
Leiren-Young says he's happy with the finished product - not just because it brings a fresh perspective to a rather stale and monotonous debate about the pros and cons of the forestry industry, and not just because it gives equal time to all sides.
"The one thing working with John (Juliani) taught me was to face fear. He always said do something you are afraid of and I think that's what Green Chain means to me now," he says, sitting back, staring at that four-legged wood product laden with magazines before him.
"You know, I used to be afraid of heights and when we shot this movie, one scene involved being high in a cedar... and so I decided I should get up there. The tree was on a cliff, so on one side, if you looked down, it was like a 150-foot drop," he says, with a hint of giddy laughter.
"But I did it, and now I'm nowhere near as afraid of heights as I used to be."
With any luck, Leiren-Young says Green Chain could have a similar effect on the logging debate.
"I think we need to listen to each other if we're going to find a solution, and maybe this movie can defuse the fear and paranoia surrounding the business of trees. There's something mystical about them, something magical.
They define us as British Columbians and if we can get a handle on what they mean to each of us, I think we stand a good chance of finding solutions to the problems in a way that respects everyone."
© CanWest News Service
Katherine Monk
VANCOUVER - He's been thinking and writing about the multi-faceted relationship between people and trees since 1985, when a stint at the Williams Lake Tribune introduced him to logging communities and their unique place in the B.C. economy.
But ask playwright, filmmaker and all-purpose scribe Mark Leiren-Young what trees mean to him, personally, and he looks at the square wooden coffee table in front of him with a seeking expression.
"I'll have to think about that one for a bit," he says. "It's not a simple question... everything about trees can be read in so many different ways, and raise different questions. It can get emotional very fast."
For a dramatist, any issue that can raise emotions and political fervor in the same breath is a boon, which is why Leiren-Young first contemplated the idea for The Green Chain - his new feature film which screens at the Vancouver International Film Festival this week - more than 20 years ago in the womb of a resource-based economy.
"As a person who'd been living in Vancouver, I sort of felt like Greenpeace was in my blood," says Leiren-Young, longtime creative collaborator with the late Vancouver theatre luminary, John Juliani.
"When I first arrived in Williams Lake, my first assignment was talking to people who cut down trees. It was the first time I actually heard the logger's perspective and it became very clear to me at that point that no one in the whole forestry debate was listening to each other."
Leiren-Young says a chance meeting with John Wiggers, the former chair of the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, confirmed his interpretation of the big tree picture and that's when everything came together.
"It was so weird, because here I'd been looking for this guy - and I ended up sitting next to him on a plane. I never talk to people on the plane, and for some reason, I started talking to the man next to me - and it was the man I'd been looking for."
Realizing fate was cooperating with the creative venture, which was originally conceived as a radio or TV script that Leiren-Young and Juliani could produce on a limited budget, the next step was finding the right structure and approach.
"It was important for me that we explored the issue in as many dimensions as possible," he says. "There were so many voices that needed to be heard, and so that's where I started: I wanted to let those voices speak for themselves, so originally, I had six characters who all spoke about how much they love trees."
The six characters eventually grew into seven, once Leiren-Young realized he had no First Nations voice, and The Green Chain moved ever closer to camera.
"When I worked on Articles of Faith (a play about the Anglican Church's blessing of same sex unions) with John (Juliani) he stopped a performance of the play half way through and asked the audience if they thought the play was skewed in a particular direction. Only two people - one from each side - felt the play was biased. Everyone else in the audience thought it was fair," he says.
"I wanted to find the same balance for Green Chain... and that all came down to the voices. I figured if I got the voices right, I'd be able to explore the issue in a way that felt honest. I felt everyone deserved to be represented."
The result is a movie that features seven monologues from a variety of tree-loving types - including a logger and an environmental activist.
Leiren-Young says he's happy with the finished product - not just because it brings a fresh perspective to a rather stale and monotonous debate about the pros and cons of the forestry industry, and not just because it gives equal time to all sides.
"The one thing working with John (Juliani) taught me was to face fear. He always said do something you are afraid of and I think that's what Green Chain means to me now," he says, sitting back, staring at that four-legged wood product laden with magazines before him.
"You know, I used to be afraid of heights and when we shot this movie, one scene involved being high in a cedar... and so I decided I should get up there. The tree was on a cliff, so on one side, if you looked down, it was like a 150-foot drop," he says, with a hint of giddy laughter.
"But I did it, and now I'm nowhere near as afraid of heights as I used to be."
With any luck, Leiren-Young says Green Chain could have a similar effect on the logging debate.
"I think we need to listen to each other if we're going to find a solution, and maybe this movie can defuse the fear and paranoia surrounding the business of trees. There's something mystical about them, something magical.
They define us as British Columbians and if we can get a handle on what they mean to each of us, I think we stand a good chance of finding solutions to the problems in a way that respects everyone."
© CanWest News Service
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Red Carpetting for The Green Chain
Tricia Helfer and Mark Leiren-Young did the red carpet for The Green Chain at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The photo is by efilmcritic.com's Jason Whyte, who interviewed Mark for the movie's premiere.Here's the start of the interview. For the full interview, click here.
Is this your first film in the VIFF? (Or the first film you have) Do you have any other festival experience? If you’re a festival veteran, let us know your favourite and least-favourite parts of the festival experience.
Yes. It’s my first film at VIFF and my first film. I’ve had a lot of amazing festival experiences, but in theatre, comedy and music festivals. Film festivals are a whole new ride that I’m thrilled to be taking.
Could you give me a little look into your background (your own personal biography, if you will), and what led you to the desire to want to make film?
When I was a reporter at The Williams Lake Tribune I interviewed a logger about his brand new machine that he described as, “a mill on wheels.” While he boasted about his beautiful machine, he was complaining about the damn environmentalists from the cities who were taking away all the jobs. As one of those damn environmentalists, the interview always stuck with me and created the first link in The Green Chain.
Growing up, you were no doubt asked the eternal question “When I grow up I want to be a …” Finish this sentence, please!
“Writer.” I started giving that answer when I was in elementary school. In high school I told people I was a writer.
While you were making the movie, were you thinking about the future release of the film, be it film festivals, paying customers, critical response, and so forth?
Yes and no. A big part of making a movie is funding it, so I think you have to consider those questions unless you want to pay all the bills yourself. In terms of response, what mattered most to me was getting the stories right.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The Green Chain Competes for major Green Award
The Green Chain has been selected to compete for the Vancouver International Film Festival's new $25,000 Climate for Change Award -- one of the largest cash awards at any film festival in North America.
The series includes dramatic features and documentaries and The Green Chain is the only Canadian film in competition and one of only two dramatic entries.
The new annual award is and is sponsored by Kyoto Planet, "a new eco-conscious company with three distinct but interrelated parts: a financial vehicle to support and facilitate investment in, and management of, business opportunities in the green sector, a foundation to award grants and manage the non-profit portion of the company's business, and a consumer company grounded by a broad portal to serve as the preeminent marketplace for knowledge, ideas, discussion and goods and services in the environmental space."
VIFF Director Alan Franey says, "This is a major and very important development for our festival. Although it is true that we have featured many films on environmental issues over the years, the generous and enlightened support of Kyoto Planet encourages us to put environmentally themed films front and centre in our program."
The series includes dramatic features and documentaries and The Green Chain is the only Canadian film in competition and one of only two dramatic entries.
The new annual award is and is sponsored by Kyoto Planet, "a new eco-conscious company with three distinct but interrelated parts: a financial vehicle to support and facilitate investment in, and management of, business opportunities in the green sector, a foundation to award grants and manage the non-profit portion of the company's business, and a consumer company grounded by a broad portal to serve as the preeminent marketplace for knowledge, ideas, discussion and goods and services in the environmental space."
VIFF Director Alan Franey says, "This is a major and very important development for our festival. Although it is true that we have featured many films on environmental issues over the years, the generous and enlightened support of Kyoto Planet encourages us to put environmentally themed films front and centre in our program."
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Mark Leiren-Young on VIFF Panel
Panelists: Laura Dunn (The Unforeseen), Oliver Hodge (Garbage Warrior), Mark Leiren-Young (The Green Chain) Moderator: Maia Iozova
Join these environmental filmmakers for a dynamic discussion on the challenges of making films with our precious planet in mind -- from leaving a smaller footprint during production, to creating films with integrity that break down boundaries or decide to stay purposefully within them. Learn about the approaches of these three diverse filmmakers as they discuss their experience from pre-production to the release of their films.
Presented by: Documentary Organisation of Canada - BC Chapter
Join these environmental filmmakers for a dynamic discussion on the challenges of making films with our precious planet in mind -- from leaving a smaller footprint during production, to creating films with integrity that break down boundaries or decide to stay purposefully within them. Learn about the approaches of these three diverse filmmakers as they discuss their experience from pre-production to the release of their films.
Presented by: Documentary Organisation of Canada - BC Chapter
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sprucing up the Green Chain podcast
When I first read John Vaillant’s story about “The Golden Spruce” in The New Yorker I had two simultaneous thoughts… what an incredible story and... who the heck is John Vaillant?I definitely don’t know the work of every writer in Vancouver, but I couldn’t believe there was someone in my city who wrote this wonderfully, who I’d never heard of. The article is one of the best I’ve ever read. It’s an amazing story, beautifully told.
But the book rocked my world.
It wasn’t just the rich history of the Spruce or the drama and mystery of renegade logger, Grant Hadwin, that impressed me, it was the way John wove in the history of logging and the BC forests.
When The Tyee agreed to let me do a podcast, John was the first person I contacted. He not only agreed to be interviewed, he provided me with a list of other potential interview subjects -- many of whom you’ll hear me talk with soon.
Most interviews with John focus on the man who killed the Golden Spruce, but I wasn’t interested in Grant Hadwin’s story for this. I wanted to know what a writer from the U.S. saw in Haida Gwaii that all the writers in BC had missed. I also wanted his thoughts on our forests, the way they’re run, and the new story he’s doing for National Geographic -- both because it sounds like a fascinating model for land management and because I’m really looking forward to reading it when he’s done.
John and I talked at his kitchen table in his home in Vancouver, BC. So if you hear any squeaks, that would be the sound of wooden chairs shifting on a hardwood floor. And in a podcast about trees, I kind of like the idea of punctuating it with the music of creaking wood.
Here's John...
Saturday, September 8, 2007
The Green Chain in Vancouver
Tickets on sale now!
The Green Chain has two shows at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Our Western Canadian premiere is Monday, October 8 at 7 pm at the Empire Granville 7.
Our second show is Wed. Oct. 10th at 12:30 pm at the Empire Granville 7.
The Green Chain is featured in VIFF's new "Climate for Change" series -- "an annual environmental film series and a $25,000 juried environmental award, one of the largest cash prizes at any film festival in North America... sponsored by new festival partner Kyoto Planet."
The Green Chain's Vancouver adventures officially kicked off September 5th when Babz Chula (the protester) and Mark Leiren-Young (writer/director) represented the movie at VIFF's official media launch.
Babz is currently at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as one of the stars of Future Projections -- a new program combining film and visual art.
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