Film Review: Petropolis

Documentary filmmaker Peter Mettler takes an original and effective way to tell the story of the Alberta tar sands. This 45 minute documentary it told mostly visually. Shot entirely on a helicopter, it is aerial shots of oil projects that are shocking and beautiful.

The devastation looks different from above.

Canada’s tar sands are the second largest oil reserve in the world. Estimates at 174 billion barrels of oil. This area is the size of England. I recommend you see this film. Not just because it is original and visually stunning but because we must stop our dependency on the power of petroleum. The environmental devastation and damage to the health of any breathing thing in the vicinity is not worth the price. At the Q & A afterwards it was revealed that birds have to be scared of from landing near the tar sands as they get sick and die.

In light of the current problems with the BP oil spill this film is more relevant than ever. Well done to Greenpeace, ( who funded and produced the film in Canada ) Dogwoof and the Co-operative for funding such a brave and shocking film.

To find out more about the film go to www.petropolis-film.com.
To find out more about Tar Sands go to www.toxicfuels.com