In this case, Transition Cornwall+ had managed to pack a room with at least 70 people, and they all stayed for the discussion. Then I sold every DVD copy of the full-length original version that I had brought with me, plus several of the shorter version and the new French-subtitled one.

It was a great event for me, as the passionate filmmaker. But it was clearly just as uplifting for the organizers and the audience. Here is some of the feedback:

Our Transition Cornwall group is really buoyed after a very successful event on Wednesday. David’s movie Powerful, was extremely well received by a large group of diverse people including two members of Cornwall City Council. David was an absolutely fabulous speaker, energetic and a fountain of solid information. He was peppered with questions for almost an hour after the movie. From the immediate feedback it seemed that people came away really satisfied to have had their understanding broadened through this very positive event and were looking forward to more.

Thanks again,

Susan T., Transition Cornwall+

To everyone who has not yet been to or hosted a screening of Powerful, what are you waiting for.

David

david[at]davidc.ca / +1-613-730-0870

What was different about this discussion, though, was that three of the candidates (riding of Carleton-Mississipi Mills) in Ontario’s provincial election attended, spoke and made themselves available for what turned into more than an hour-long discussion. [too bad the Progressive Conservative candidate declined, something that has become a pattern, especially when it comes to discussions on sustainable energy - but that's another topic.] It was great to see that Powerful was having just the effect/impact which motivated me to make the film in the first place: getting people thinking, debating and asking questions of our politicians and decision-makers.

However, a second big moment of the night was the fact that one of the candidates was hearing-impaired (“deaf”, in his words) and had an assistant who was “signing” so that he could follow the conversation and respond. At the end of the evening, he asked me if a “captioned” version of the film was available. I replied that no, owing to the costs of doing this I had neither produced a captioned version nor a French subtitled option when I produced the first version of the DVD. For my first film Be the Change (2008), I had incurred the additional $5000 or so expense of doing this upfront, thanks to having sufficient funds. In this case, I opted not to, but had every intention of “getting to it” in the future. Well, now here I am in the midst of getting the French subtitling done in time for a November 25th event that requires it. But, still no captioned version.

This candidate made the very helpful suggestion that I could/should prepare a copy of the transcript (with accompanying time codes), so that a hearing-impaired viewer could refer to this transcript before, during or after. As an interim measure, this is a great idea. Not as good as a true close captioned version, but a good start. So, for anyone who may desire such a transcript, please email me with this request at david[at]livinglightly.ca.  I will post this as an option on the Powerful page on this website, but that may take me a little while. And yes, I will aim to get that true captioned version done soon. Financial contributions towards this and/or the French versions are always welcome!

Cheers,

David

Getting my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone down to 95 minutes was a slow and painful process. Just imagine how it felt being asked (told!) by my distributors to make versions of 52-minutes (for International television) and 48-minutes (for North American advertisement-filled television). But it was very much worth it. Being forced to cut the film to its core essence and messages made me rethink what it would take to excite, educate and entertain an audience in less than an hour.

The task also got me thinking about creating a version that would be used for public debate and discussion. If a teacher, city manager, environmental group, community energy co-op or utility outreach officer had just 90 minutes to show a film, lead a discussion and then take audience questions, what would be the key elements that should be in that film? With this objective in mind, I and my co-producer Michael Dobbin and editor Lisa Virtue completed these shorter versions and sent them out to our distributor Filmoption International to take to the major film and television markets.

And then the request started coming in to make Powerful: Energy for Everyone available to just the kinds of audiences I had envisioned. Colleges, universities and even high schools. Town energy planners, energy co-ops and more. So, I created a few DVDs with the 52-minute version and put it to the test. The feedback was great.

So now anyone can request the short or long-version of Powerful with a public screening license and use it to stimulate much-needed debate about our energy future on this special planet of ours. Energy security, waste-to-energy, green buildings, the pros and cons of wind energy, the real potential of solar power, green collar jobs, biodiesel, the economics of nuclear energy… Powerful is just the film for leading into a serious discussion about energy, and power.

To inquire about screening Powerful: Energy for Everyone in your cinema, city hall, campus … wherever, contact me by phone at 1-613-730-0870 or email david[at]davidc.ca

I lived in Japan for two years, and covered the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl while working for a Japanese newspaper. Since that time I have not trusted nuclear energy to ever be the safe, reliable source that merits our confidence or the investment of taxpayer money. I have been a passionate critic of nuclear energy and a proponent of conservation, efficiency and renewable energy for most of my life. So for a number of reasons I am especially dismayed by what is happening today following the earthquake and tsunami-triggered nuclear emergency at Fukushima. Just as our oil dependent modern lifestyles force us to justify getting oil from “petro-tyrannies” like Saudi Arabia and Libya and the questionnable democracies in Nigeria and Venezuela, just as our need for cheap oil allows us to justify the ecological and social damage being done in Alberta’s tar sands, our appetite for power-on-demand has prevented most of us from doing a real risk analysis of nuclear energy and its many hidden costs. Well, the full costs of our energy “need” is now in full view. Who will dare to stare it in the face, then look in the mirror and say “I will not be a part of this!”

Today I ask myself, can I turn off some of the devices in my home? Can I improve the insulation of my home? Can I ride a bus or a bike a little more often? Do I need to buy new clothes for the coming summer? Will I be able to use a fan, and blinds instead of an air conditioner this summer? What can I do to be the change I wish to see in the world?

David Chernushenko

But I finally managed to post six different scenes from the film on YouTube. This should give viewers (and potential buyers and groups interested in booking a screening) a good sense of the look, feel and subject matter of the film.

Enjoy!

David Chernushenko

I am thrilled to say that I can now stand up, and let Powerful take flight!

Just last week, we signed an agreement with the Montreal-based international distributor Filmoption International. They will be representing Powerful at major television sales markets andfestivals starting with MIPCOM in Cannes in France.

We are also now editing a 52-minute version to make available for the academic and institutional markets.

So, I can hear you asking: When will I be able to see Powerful at a theatre near me, or book the film to screen, or purchase a DVD for home viewing?

Booking a screening: Contact me if you are interested in booking a screening of Powerful. We’ll send you details of costs, guidelines and considerations.

Attending a screening: As screenings of Powerful begin to take place later this fall, we’ll do our best to post the details at www.livinglightly.ca/events. Beyond that, keep your eyes and ears open for local screenings. Or better yet, tell your local cinema, university, film club, etc., that they should be arranging a screening.

Buying a DVD: We will soon be taking online pre-sale orders for Powerful on DVD using Paypal. Until we can get that set up, however, you can send a cheque for $35 (including taxes and shipping) to Living Lightly Productions, 99 Seneca Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 4X8, Canada. Delivery is currently scheduled to begin in the new year (perhaps just in time for Christmas gifts – we’ll keep you posted).

In early July I posted some additional video content that was shot during the filming of Powerful — interesting stories that did not make it into the film. Check them out under the title More Powerful at http://www.livinglightly.ca/category/videos/

As proud as I am of Powerful, there are other great new films out there. I’ll make a plug for one of them here.

I had the pleasure of hosting a screening of The Clean Bin Project in Ottawa recently. Producers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin were in attendance — actually they brought their film by bicycle, all the way from Vancouver, BC, with dozens of screening stops on the way. The Clean Bin Project was entertaining, beautiful to watch, provocative and (that dreaded word) educational! If you get a chance to see it, do it (hello Halifax and Newfoundland, check out their schedule http://www.cleanbinmovie.com/).  Like me, they are still working out details of a future release and DVD sales, and also hoping to get into some prime festivals.

All the best as we head into autumn (or spring if you are Down Under).

David Chernushenko

Turn off or unplug any non-essential appliances whenever possible. Culprits include: modems, digital cable boxes and lamps or boomboxes with “powerpack” adapters. A rule of thumb is, “if it’s hot, it’s using/wasting electricity. Something that is generating heat for no real purpose is actually creating an even greater cooling requirement in your home. That means more air conditioning or fans just to get rid of heat that you didn’t intend to create in the first place. Do a quick walk around your home and do the “touch test”.

Try a book or magazine, rather than a computer. Have you noticed how hot your computer is? You may be saving it’s life!

Run your dishwasher after 10pm, then open it up and let it air dry rather than using an electrical heater to dry the dishes. Open your doors/windows to let out the steam and heat. We are all up late anyway.

Wash a load of laundry each night after 10pm, then hang that load out first thing in the morning. Get a drying rack for your yard, deck or balcony if you don’t have space for a clothesline. If you have a phobia about hanging out clothes, just ask yourself which is really hurting your neighbours: smog alerts and power outages, or fresh laundry flapping in the breeze?

Now if only we could order up some breeze.

David Chernushenko

Yesterday morning it was Giacomo Panico’s Monday Special Blend show on CKCU radio at Carleton University in Ottawa. This morning it was the “A-Morning” television show, and there is plenty more to come. If you like what you see and hear, please help me to spread the word.

David Chernushenko

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the making of my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone, I had the occasion to visit many communities, see interesting projects and interview passionate people of all stripes. I shot over 100 hours of video. Not all could be squeezed into a 95-minute film. This is one of the stories that I would like to have included if I had the space.

On April 7, 2010 my friend Jules de Heer passed away at the age of 53. Jules was a pioneer in a whole range of areas of eco/sustainable/green theories and practices. A trained engineer, Jules combined his rigorous attention to detail and desire for clarity with a passion for bringing human activity into harmony with natural processes and systems. He also introduced a strong aesthetic sense to whatever he was doing. To me, Jules de Heer was truly a pioneer in living lightly. His legacy will be a generation of students who studied under him, colleagues who worked with him, bid and host cities of Olympic Games that were “greened” by him, and many innovative tools for analysis and measuring performance that he shared generously with people like me.

I had the pleasure to visit with Jules and his family at their new home in Switzerland. Jules applied his passion for sustainability and precise detail in the design of this  pre-fabricated home, which meets and exceeds the Swiss “Minergie” standard.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the making of my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone, I had the occasion to visit many communities, see interesting projects and interview passionate people of all stripes. I shot over 100 hours of video. Not all could be squeezed into a 95-minute film. This is one of the stories that I would like to have included if I had the space.

The Race Rocks Ecological Reserve — just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia — is managed by Pearson College, an international high school. Students learn about marine ecology and, increasingly, about energy. The facilities at Race Rocks, where some students spend a great deal of time, require energy to run. Typically this has been provided by diesel fuel, which is expensive and dangerous to transport. The transition to renewable power is well under way, with several arrays of solar panels in place and, now, a new tidal energy turbine in place several metres below the ocean surface in fast moving tidal currents. Some students have seen their future aspirations transformed by their work at Race Rocks and their introduction to renewable energy.