May 3, 2018 – Toronto – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
With every day bringing new and alarming headlines about climate change and environmental catastrophes, it’s easy to become pessimistic and lose hope. Yet hope is at the heart of Velcrow Ripper and Nova Ami’s visually stunning feature documentary Metamorphosis—a cinematic poem for our planet, screening in cities across Canada this June.
Produced by Clique Pictures, Transparent Film and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Metamorphosis opens June 1 in Montreal and Quebec City, followed by runs in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver (complete details below)—with filmmakers Ripper (Fierce Light, Scared Sacred) and Ami (Say I Do, Secrets) appearing in all cities.
Metamorphosis takes the pulse of our Earth and bears witness to a moment of profound change: the loss of one world, and the birth of another. The film captures the true scale of the global environmental crisis. Forest fires consume communities, species vanish, and entire ecosystems collapse. Economic growth, tied to increased speed of resource extraction, has created a machine with the capacity to destroy all life.
But this crisis is also an opportunity for transformation. Through a tidal flow of stunning images, Metamorphosis carves a path from the present to the future, and offers a bold new vision for humanity and the world. In Milan, architects design vertical forests, urban towers covered with trees and bushes that reduce CO2, produce oxygen, and give new life to the city. In Phoenix, swimming pools are repurposed into self-sustaining gardens. In LA, installing solar panels in underserved neighbourhoods provides cleaner energy to families who normally would not be able to access it. Woven through these and other stories of creativity and reinvention from artists, scientists, thinkers, and young children are creative, systemic solutions for our planet and our communities.
Prior to its June theatrical run, Metamorphosis was selected to the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver as well as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and DocLands Documentary Film Festival in California.
Metamorphosis is produced by Lauren Grant (Clique Pictures), Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper (Transparent Film) and Bonnie Thompson and David Christensen (NFB). The executive producers are David Christensen (NFB North West Studio) and John Bain.
Complete schedule
Opening June 1 (French-subtitled version)
Cinéma Le Clap, Quebec City
Cinéma du Parc, Montreal
June 7 and June 8 at 9 p.m.
Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Toronto
Opening June 8
Carlton Cinema, Toronto
Opening June 20
Globe Cinema, Calgary
June 22 at 4 p.m. and June 23 at 9:30 p.m.
Metro Cinema, Edmonton
June 24 and 25
Cinecenta, Victoria
June 26–28
Vancity Theatre, Vancouver
About the filmmakers
Velcrow Ripper creates powerful, cinematic feature documentaries that deal with the central issues of our times. His epic “Fierce Light Trilogy” began with Scared Sacred, winner of the 2005 Genie Award for best feature documentary, continued with 2008’s award-winning Fierce Light and concluded with Occupy Love (2013). His first feature-length documentary, Bones of the Forest (1995, co-directed with Heather Frise) won nine awards, including Best of the Festival at Hot Docs and the 1996 Genie for best feature doc.
Nova Ami creates socially relevant, thought-provoking films that inspire, educate, and empower. Her work has screened at international festivals including Hot Docs and IDFA, and has been broadcast on BBC, CBC, CTV, Super Channel, Vision TV, and SBS Australia. She directed the documentaries Say I Do (CTV, Vision TV), Secrets (CBC’s The Passionate Eye), and Peacing it Together (Red Storm Productions), and was a producer on Occupy Love and Army of One.
About the NFB
The NFB is Canada’s public producer of award-winning creative documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences. NFB producers are embedded in communities across the country, from St. John’s to Vancouver, working with talented creators on innovative and socially relevant projects. The NFB is a leader in gender equity in film and digital media production, and is working to strengthen Indigenous-led production, guided by the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. NFB productions have won over 7,000 awards, including 20 Canadian Screen Awards, 18 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 100 Genies. To access NFB works, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for mobile devices.
About Transparent Film
Transparent Film is committed to changing the world through cutting-edge feature documentary films that inspire personal and global revolutions. We produce films that entertain, enlighten and offer transformative perspectives on the world we live in through effective and innovative methods of storytelling. We believe in reaching the widest audience possible, and release our films with a powerful combination of traditional film marketing and the latest social networking tools, transforming movies into movements.
About Clique Pictures
Clique Pictures is a vibrant film and television production company that focuses on working with female creative talent in front and behind the camera. Clique Pictures recently completed the feature documentary Metamorphosis, the short documentary One Leg In, One Leg Out for CBC Digital, and the Canadian Screen award-winning short Take a Walk on the Wildside. Clique Pictures is in post-production on feature film Riot Girls. Previous productions include the feature films Wet Bum, Picture Day, and the documentary Traceable.
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Related Products
Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopsis: Metamorphosis
Associated Links
Clique Pictures