In the Peace River region, trouble is brewing. As gas companies move heavily into northern B.C., family farms suffer lethal gas leaks, stunned that such injustice could happen in Canada.
From this mayhem emerges Karl Mattson: cowboy, artist, father. Small gas leaks are affecting the health of his herd and family. When a big leak comes, it will be deadly. But the media cares little for the plight of farmers like Karl. And while the government eagerly commits $4 million to catching a mysterious “pipeline bomber”, it fails to regulate safety standards for its own citizens. The message is clear: industry trumps individuals. But Karl isn’t ready to roll over and die just yet.
Trouble in the Peace is the story of a growing grassroots revolution against the multinational energy extraction industry. The film offers an unflinching look into the dark viscous world of big oil and gas told through the personal perspective of two neighboring families at war over the land beneath their feet. When livestock begin dying and children become mysteriously ill after gas leaks, a series of bombs are set off on the pipelines in reaction. The gas company announces a $1 million reward for the capture of the pipeline bomber, which viciously tears the community apart. But after the dust settles, the surprising and inspiring result is of people coming together with a common goal.
Born in Hamilton, Ont., director Julian T. Pinder studied film and politics at Queen’s University. He then apprenticed under Nick de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal (True Meaning of Pictures and Manufactured Landscapes) before assisting director Helen Shaver (Law and Order, The Unit, Medium), followed by producing television with Sarrazin Couture Entertainment in Toronto.
Aside from being immersed in film from an early age, Pinder is a rough traveller with an interest in the seedier and more volatile parts of the world. He brings a knowledge of filmmaking, a proclivity for storytelling, and a keen sense of the “other side” to his films.
Pinder teamed up with Six Island Productions, the National Film Board, TVO and Canwest-Hot Docs to direct his debut feature documentary, Land, which premiered to sold out audiences at Hot Docs. He and producer Paul Scherzer teamed up again on this doc, Trouble in the Peace.
“Sometimes I do ask myself why I don’t just do drama,” says Pinder. ”The time I spend finding these characters, why don’t I just write this stuff? [But] the people I met on these shoots and the personal journey, not just physical — it’s almost like a therapy session making these films.”
Trouble in the Peace runs at 1:30 p.m. June 8 at the Creston and District Public Library. Admission is free. Running time is 80 minutes.
—CRESTON AND DISTRICT PUBLIC LIBRARY