Educational Media Reviews Online

Earth Keepers chronicles the encounters of environmental activist Mikael Rioux as he travels to meet a variety of innovative thinkers who have initiated projects to reduce the human impact on the environment. The film opens by quickly introducing viewers to Rioux, charting his brief history of local activism. Keyed by the birth of his son and a meeting with Christian de Laet, a famous activist whom Rioux grew to consider his mentor, Rioux sets off to meet seven men and women who have worked to find realizable solutions to environmental problems. Earth Keepers is a welcome entry in the overcrowded field of environmental films in that it focuses on solutions rather than merely outlining the dilemmas.

That said, Earth Keepers is not without its weaknesses. The film follows Rioux as he meets with such visionaries as John Todd, voted as one of the 35 greatest inventors of the 20th Century and creator of “The Living Machine,” which attempts to imitate nature for such functions as water filtration systems and Ashok Khosla, co-founder of Development Alternatives in India, which engages in such projects as providing work for women who make paper from waste materials from the cotton industry. All seven activists and inventors Rioux meets have interesting projects set into motion to help reduce the human burden on the environment; however, the film does not always do justice to this work as it attempts to show their impact over a mere 43 minutes. The film covers these projects very briefly, leaving the viewer wanting more. This complaint is a minor one as the film does raise many interesting issues along the way and is well-focused on how the projects are excellent examples of how science and ingenuity can help reverse the damage being done with business as usual.

Another problem with the film, one I’m willing to admit may be peculiar to me, is the National Film Board of Canada’s penchant for dubbing rather that for using subtitles. I find dubbing to be very distracting and would much prefer to hear the original voices in the original language.

Overall, Earth Keepers is an interesting if not stellar addition to the crowded field of environmental films. Its main strength is its focus on solutions rather than just bemoaning the problems.

Awards

• Environmental Award, 2010 Reykjavik International Film Festival
• Best Documentary, 2009 Festival du film de Sept-Îles (Quebec)
• Best Canadian Long Form Film, 2009 Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival