TIFF Picks 09: Peter Mettler’s Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands

#18. Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands

Director: Peter Mettler
Distributor: Rights Available.

Buzz: Canada is one of the world’s worst polluters and thanks to Peter Mettler’s keen eye as a cinematographer (Manufactured Landscapes) and filmmaker – words will be totally unnecessary to grasp the full impact of this country’s actions. Closer to a short film format than feature length, this should have a healthy life on the film festival circuit and specialized television networks. Check out the aerial footage gathered here.  

The Gist: Located beneath 4.3 million hectares of boreal forest in Alberta, Canada, the tar sands are a mixture of sand, clay and a heavy crude oil called bitumen that is either mined in open pits or extracted from underground by injecting superheated water. Getting the oil out of the tar sands uses roughly three barrels of water per barrel of oil, or as much water as a city of two million people. After use in tar sands processing, 90 per cent of this water is so contaminated with toxic chemicals that it must be stored in tailings ponds so huge that they can be seen from outer space.

TIFF Schedule: Click here for schedule times.