By Katie Foglia and Elizabeth Krizner, College Green Magazine Account
On April 25, College Green Mag will be hosting environmental filmmaker Joyce Johnson. Her documentary film, “Mother: Caring For 7 Billion” will be shown in Walter 145 beginning at 7 p.m.
Afterward, Johnson will host a brief discussion about the film and her methods, followed by a Q-and-A session.
The film focuses on a pressing issue – population growth. In 2011 the world population reached 7 billion. Since the 1960s the world population has nearly doubled. The national and global attention toward that issue has declined in recent years. The topic must be dealt with sensitively due to the social, political and economic issues that are associated with it.
Population growth is part of a larger problem. The film’s purpose is to educate and to guide people toward new ways of thought. According to the film, the first step toward finding a solution to the problem is to change people’s mindset and to raise the status of women globally. “Mother” sheds light on this issue in new ways.
According to the press kit on the film’s website, Johnson was also the producer of previous award-winning films, “Energy Crossroads” and “The Great Squeeze.” Before becoming an independent producer, she was a biology teacher and health educator who worked in teen pregnancy prevention. She also has a background in reproductive health.
Christophe Fauchere not only aided Johnson as a producer, but also directed and edited the film. According to the press kit, Fauchere is an award-winning filmmaker who has been working in the film and video industry for 15 years. He founded the production company Tiroir A Films in 2001. Fauchere produced and directed two acclaimed documentaries: “Energy Crossroads: A Burning Need to Change Course” and “The Great Squeeze: Surviving the Human Project.” Both of those films were selected at over 16 film festivals on five continents and won praise, as well as three “Best Documentary” awards.
The press kit also mentions that the film won several film festival awards, including Best Colorado Film at the Boulder International Film Festival and Best Social Issue Documentary at the DocuFest Atlanta. “Mother” also won Best Film at Population Institute’s 32nd Annual Media Awards. The film was screened at several locations throughout the country.
Several voices are featured in the documentary, including Dr. Malcolm Potts from the University of California at Berkeley, environmental writer John Feeney, William Ryerson from Population Media Center, Population Action International’s Esraa Bani and Population Connection’s Brian Dixon among others.
Stay in contact with the most recent updates on the event by following College Green Mag on Twitter at @CollegeGreenMag. Use the hashtag #JoyceJohnson when tweeting about the event.
For more information, visit www.motherthefilm.com and www.collegegreenmag.com.
College Green Mag is an online student-run publication that focuses on environmental issues in Southeast Ohio.
