Celebrating Community

Before I began shooting Living Downstream, I did the usual prep work that most filmmakers do. I read a lot of research and background materials, I met with my crew members and showed them films that I admired, I closed my eyes and tried to visualize my own film in real time. But I did something...

When Ten Days Becomes Ten Years

Today is the second anniversary of the world premiere of my documentary film, Living Downstream. The film took a total of six years to complete. And now, two years after its completion, I’m still working on it! I’ll probably be working on it two years from now.

On a winter’s day back in 2004, I...

Standing Together in the Water

On Tuesday February 7, Living Downstream screened at the Orillia, Ontario, campus of Lakehead University. What follows are some of the things I thought about during that screening. And some of the things I said to the audience during my introduction of the film that night.

Feb 7, 2012:...

Gardener

I am not a gardener. I wish I were. Especially because I come from a family of green thumbs. My mother trades bulbs and seeds and clippings with my aunts. My sister is a trained florist. And my father attended agricultural college, hoping to become a farmer.

But it seems I’ve never been able to...

Rules of the Road

Thursday was a milestone day for me. It’s the first time since shooting Living Downstream that I have been back in Illinois. We flew into Chicago’s Midway Airport that day. It was also a milestone day for Henry, my three-month-old son. It was his first plane ride.

He slept most of the flight...

Tracing the Lines through Illinois

I spend a lot of time looking at the corkboard that hangs over my desk. To anyone but me, it is a disorderly mess. Covered in calendars, photographs, greeting cards, business cards, project budgets, maps, funding guidelines, post-it notes and scraps of paper, it is a mixture of inspiration,...

Living Downstream in Toronto

The title of this blog can be taken in two ways: 1) Those of us who live in Toronto are living downstream from industries that are releasing chemicals into our environment; or 2) My film, Living Downstream will be screening in Toronto.

Both interpretations are correct.

I have a button that I...

Alone in a Room

t’s early in the morning and I’m feeling stuck. I’m sitting in my home office, listening to my daughter’s voice on the baby monitor as she is beginning to awaken two floors up. Today is her birthday. She is physically close, but she feels very far away right now. Mentally, I’m all alone. Deep in...

Filmmaker

When filling out forms that require this kind of information, I typically list my occupation as filmmaker or producer. But I also think of myself as a writer. After all, I spend more time writing than doing anything else. I also spend a lot of time thinking about language and the ways people use...

Now and Then

Now: I've been in a reflective mood lately. I think that often happens when one is going through some sort of transition. And I am. Several.

I'm six months pregnant. Here's a picture of the little guy:

But I'm also going through a transition of another kind. As I'm getting...