The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
An award-winning documentary filmmaker is pointing her lens at the dark side of hydro dam development in Northern Manitoba. Green Green Water, the brainchild of American director Dawn Mikkelson, will detail how the projects have impacted the traditional way of life for some aboriginal people. "My work is about people who've been marginalized in some way," she was quoted as saying. "I have not met anyone who conveys hopelessness in the way these people do." Among the people featured in the production is Danny Halcrow, a Cross Lake trapper who says his children will not be able to follow in his footsteps because of dangers posed by the development. "Winter water fluctuations cause previously frozen ice in the winter to open up, making travel extremely dangerous for Cree peoples," reads a statement on the film's web site. Mikkelson said she hopes a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro, the company behind the development, will share the utility's insight on the matter. "I'm coming at this more from a human-rights perspective. But I'm telling them, 'I'm not going to treat you like a Michael Moore,'" she was quoted as saying, referring to the controversial documentary filmmaker often criticized for a lack of balance. Indeed Manitoba Hydro, based in Winnipeg, has indicated a willingness to speak with Mikkelson, but the company remains guarded about what it sees as a slanted production thus far. "We have concerns about the bias that is evident in this project from the outset," said company spokesman Bill Henderson. "However, we feel it is important that accurate and complete information, and objective information, be provided." He said the company is suggesting Mikkelson include not only Hydro's viewpoint, but also the opinions of "a variety of First Nations communities who may have a different perspective than the one that appears to be dominant in the film" so viewers can "understand the range of views that are out there." Henderson criticized the film's web site for containing "incomplete, inaccurate and unbalanced information." Asked if Hydro might consider legal action if the film is defamatory, he replied: "That's a speculative question. Obviously we feel that the best approach at this time is to communicate with the producer and to provide accurate information and encourage her to talk to a range of people, not just those who may agree with her editorial line." Henderson said the company has involved aboriginal people in the developments and has worked to minimize any impact. See 'Hydro' P.# Con't from P.# "We are also working with them to partner in the ownership of new hydro dams," said Henderson. Mikkelson is currently conducting a fundraising campaign to have Green Green Water, her third documentary feature, made with a planned budget of $222,000. She accepts donations over the Internet and has hosted at least one fundraising evening in Minneapolis-St. Paul. No release date has been announced.
