It is not easy being green, and in Brazil is can be deadly.

It's not easy being green, and in Brazil it can be deadly.

Another week, another environmentalist is murdered. Why should you care? Well, for starters, someone was murdered. Murdered for standing up and protecting something that the entire world needs. Think about it for a second, one out of every four breaths you take comes from this ecosystem. Yes, the Amazon generates 25% (+/-) of the world's oxygen. It also contains half the world land-based biodiversity and plays an incredibly important role in regulating the Earth’s climate, as well as regional rain cycles. Parts of Sao Paulo are already suffering droughts and water shortages (and all indications are it will get worse) because of deforestation in the Amazon (and piss-poor state management, of course). But who knows which city or nation may feel the dramatic effects of a forest under siege, next.

As to the article's question about why so many environmentalists are killed in Brazil, well it is a violent nation (over 50,000 murders are year – that we know about), with incompetent and corrupt governance and questionable police services (16% of all homicides in Rio de Janeiro, for example, are carried out by police according to Amnesty International). The honest cops (and there are many) are under-funded, often poorly trained and usually barely equipped to deal with a region continental in size and with such a propensity for violence and mob rule. Since everything in Brazil is currently worsening (sadly), from the economy to crime to politics etc…I do not see it getting any easier for environmentalists or any better for the Amazon.

And that is not good news for anyone on the Earth.

Sorry for the Inconvenience Premiers!

6 years of work, headaches and frustrations ended last night with a packed house, laughs, cheers, tears and a long impassioned standing ovation. I was left gob-smacked and literally teary-eyed! Sorry for the Inconvenience: The Dirty little War Over Chico’s Bar premiered last night at the 19th edition of FAM Panvision, a rather large South American (Mercosul) film festival conveniently held on this very island. And as they say, “It was a hit!”. I'm sooo relieved.

But as difficult as those 6 years were, they were important, and this film is very important for the community here and the island. For those wanting more info on the documentary www.desculpepelotranstorno.com There is an english link.

Sorry for the Inconvience: The Dirty Little War Over Chico's Bar

Well, the long awaited release of my newest documentary is this weekend. Its national premiere will be Saturday at the 19th edition of the Latin American film festival FAM, conveniently held in Florianopolis each year. Hundreds of films from several Mercosul (that’s a Latin American trading block) countries entered, and this little 80 minute ditty is now competing for with four others for best Documentary. I say it’s long awaited, because I couldn’t wait to finish and be rid of it. :-)

This documentary is a bit of a pyrrhic accomplishment. One made over the years without funding, with little to no help and over the last year, it left me drained, deceived and hugely disappointed which is ironic in that the original goal of the video was to be a source of inspiration, a point of hope in a land plagued by corruption, scandal and opportunists. Who knew there’d been an opportunist at my side.

So as happy as I am that it’s finally out of the studio and heading to a festival, I’m am even more elated that I’m rid of this headache and the lazy, barely-literate asshole that was attached.

My advice to budding documentary makers, (because I tend to get a bit of email asking advice) is choose people whom you have to work with really well, and CONTRACTS CONTRACTS CONTRACTS!

With that said, those interested in knowing  more about the film, check out the site and trailer.  Even given the headaches, lies, deceit that went on behind the scenes, I think I managed a rather beautiful film, with no budget that hopefully highlights a very big concern for not only the island, but many coastal areas throughout Brazil and around the world.

There is an English version of both.

www.desculpepelotranstorno.com

Damocracy Wins another Award

Photo: Sara Creta 2014

Great news. The video Damocracy that was written, filmed, edited and directed by yours truly, and produced for a number of environmental groups, most notably Doga in Turkey, has just won another International video award; this time in Bilbao, Spain.

 I had the honour of being able to attend the 6th Cine Invisible International Film Festival and to personally present Damocracy which was selected to open the festival with over 400 in attendance. It was a wonderful festival, with a focus on highlighting stories that don’t often get told. Not only were theaters at night filled, but the festival also participated in schools and I had the wonderful experience of being able to talk about the issue of dams in the Amazon and in Turkey with not only people interested in films, but with students interested in social and environmental issues.

 That, in and of itself, was worthy of mentioning, however the video also won a prestigious award in the category of videos dealing with sustainability on the closing night. Congrats to all involved. Damocracy will now be participating in the 1st International Planeta Doc film festival in Florianopolis, Brazil. Damocracy has won two awards, and has been officially selected to participate in 8 festivals in 8 different countries.

 Check out the photos and video

Biggest & Baddest, second season in full swing.

The second rabies' shot is done, one more to go, visa is in the mail and in less than three weeks I'll be joining the brilliant "Biggest & Baddest" film crew in Uganda on yet another incredible adventure.

Biggest and Baddest is the brainchild of Peter Von Puttkammer. It's a great television series which airs on Animal Planet and Discovery. Now in its second season, it's an adventure, conservation, travel and wildlife show (not necessarily in that order). It tracks some of the biggest and most ferocious animals of the world, and while providing all the drama and information you'd expect from a great host driven wildlife show, it also discusses conservation issues and the problems that arise when the habitat of these creatures is reduced and they start to come into conflict with local communities. 

Peter is a brilliant director/producer (and cameraman) whom I've had the honour of knowing and working with since 2010 when we first worked together in the Amazon on his PBS Secrets of the Dead documentary about Col. Percy Fawcett (Lost in the Amazon). The host of the programme, Niall McCann, is a biologist, explorer and quite frankly one of the sharpest lads I've even met, he's also incredibly good in front of the camera and picked up "TV" faster than any other journalist or host I've worked with over my 30 years in this industry. 

The entire team is just a joy to work with, from the Venezuela Amazon (Anacondas), the outback of Australia (Crocodiles), the grasslands of Nepal (Tigers) and the Bayou of the USA (wild hogs), there's no other group I'd rather be with in tough, often dangerous situations producing stellar and important TV. Here's some behind the scenes pics over the last couple of years. 

Photos courtesy the Amazing Andy Dittrich; Niall McCann and Jon Ritchie. Scroll down to the bottom for the show's trailer.

Todd on Elephant back -
the only way you can track tigers safely.
(photo: Andy Dittrich 2011)

Todd Southgate with Peter Von Puttkamer.photo: Andy Dittrich 2012

Biggest and Baddest gang in Australia's Northern Territory.
Photo: Andy Dittrich 2012

Photo: Andy Dittrich 2012
Australia

Niall Catches another Python in the Venezuelan AmazonPhoto: Andy Dittrich 2011

Photo: Andy Dittrich 2011

Photo: Jon Ritchie 2011 (Nepal)

Photo: Niall Mccann (Venezuela)

Photo: Jon Ritchie 2011

Damocracy doco wins award and goes on tour

The Damocracy film will be screened in January at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, in Nevada City, California - the largest film festival of it's kind (by and for environmental and justice activists) in the US. The film will also be included in the film festival's tour of the US, and will have in screen in 100 cities. Damocracy also recently won the "Environmental Anthropology" Award at the CINECO international film festival in Portugal.

30 Years supporting indigenous peoples in Brazil.

I sadly missed the event because of obligations which took me to Canada, but even from over 5000 miles away that didn't make the honour of being part of something uniquely special and important any less awesome.

This year the Norwegian Embassy's Programme for supporting indigenous peoples celebrates 30 years of work in Brazil. The milestone was marked on November 19th by a historical photo exhibit, live performances (including performances from Norway’s' own indigenous peoples, the Sami) and the presence of indigenous dignitaries like Raoni Metuktire and Davi Kopenawa Yanomami at Brazil’s National Museum in Brasilia. Many incredible NGOs, which receive financial support from Norway to help fight for the rights of indigenous peoples, were also present and their work celebrated on this night.

One other element to this evening’s programme was a short 30 minute documentary I had filmed, written and edited highlighting the Embassy’s work and the work of their partners over 30 years. Yes, call this shameless self-promotion, but it’s one of those extraordinary assignments where you’d be an absolute lummox not to flag-wave your own involvement. Not just because I feel the final product turned out well, but on a purely selfish personal level, I was given the opportunity to spend time with, and learn from, so many inspirational people doing stellar social and environmental work. The Embassy’s exhibit is traveling to various cities in Brazil, and I assume the video will follow. I hope to make it to one of the showings, although 2014 is building up to be one wild roller-coaster of a year. My sincere congratulations to Kristian Bengtson and Patrícia Benthien for the incredible work they do on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy; work which truly has, as I've personally seen, made a significant difference in the lives of indigenous peoples here in Brazil.

The Xavantes of Maraiwatsede

Another video I produced for Greenpeace outlining the connection between international leather and meat markets and the Amazon's destruction and the suffering of indigenous peoples.

Kayapo Assemble to Defend the Xingu

I'm rather proud of this video, given it was shot news-style over the course of 3 days, we still managed to get quite an important story told.

Sadly, the government is still hell bent on building Belo Monte - insanity in Brazil prevails in political circles, which is why we took to the streets yesterday, in the pouring rain, to protest the government's incompetency and corruption. As one protester lamented "there's no one flash point issue in Brazil right now" the country is awash in political malfeasance and the noise in the streets was to send a message to the government that the country is watching and they need to clean up their act.

Well, it's been a while. But I have an excuse; sort of.

Apologies for my absence.

Thankfully it’s been a busy year but the weak state of this blog has more to do with procrastination than vocational exhaustion. True, I’ve been back and forth to the Amazon three times, once again in the company of James Cameron and crew and another time documenting a historical gathering of indigenous leaders. My work in the Amazon has me helping a number of environmental groups fight against the Brazilian Government’s incredibly insane plan to build a hydro-electric dam on the Xingu River. Yes, the 513 German U-boat search proved successful. The Lone Wolf that eluded the Schurmann family and researchers for two years was finally found, while I of course documented this historic moment. The PBS documentary “Lost in the Amazon: the Enigma of Col. Percy Fawcett” in which I was the director of photography in the Brazilian Amazon was aired with excellent reviews, and my own projects have indeed been chomping away at my time, too. The Dirty Little War over Chico’s Bar has proven to be a difficult documentary to dig into given the complexity of its social commentary as well as the frustrations of getting information from the government or governmental groups involved. The “Bem Estar Animal” video/ institutional has become a tad bigger than I had originally envisaged, but it’s already hinting at being successful in that just the trailer has already helped spread the word in regards to the treatment of animals in Brazil and provoked one Mayor to Act.

Now it’s confession time.

Although I’ve been knee-deep in exciting projects, campaigns and adventures the sorry state of this blog comes down to simple neglect. For that I am sorry. Even worse, for someone like me who makes a living communicating, to leave an important medium like this unattended for such a long period of time is indeed a career crime. Maybe that’s why the phone is not ringing off the hook.

So, on that note, my newest blog…

“crickets”

OK, I’ve nothing earth-shatteringly important to say or express. Instead I’ll simply use this post to explain a few of the projects I’ve been involved in or I am currently working on to give my zero faithful followers of this blog an idea of some of my career highlights six months into 2011.

Rio de Janeiro

The year started out on a tragic note. Heavy rains and poor land-use planning in the Serra region of Rio de Janeiro led to mountains of mud literally burying people and homes in 7 municipalities. Over 700 were killed, 600 missing and thousands left homeless. With a crew from Greenpeace we spent a week documenting the devastation for future climate change projects. It was indeed a tough assignment; the stench of death was in the air and the stories of loss too much at times to deal with but there were no shortages of heroes as well. Firefighters, community leaders and businesses all chipping in to ease the suffering and search for the dead. Events like this are growing in frequency and intensity and the government of Brazil is not equipped to deal with these types of catastrophes.

Before arriving in Rio de Janerio we were documenting the drought in the southern part of Rio Grande do Sul. Whether it’s an excess or a lack of water the results are similar – misery and desperation. Is this a foreshadowing of things to come if we don’t heed climatologist’s warnings? I know what I think. How we get the rest of the world on side is another story. Hopefully, we can produce a part II to the award winning documentary I produced with Greenpeace in 2006 called: Mudancas de Clima, Mudancas de Vidas.

Is that Arnold Swartzenegger and James Cameron in the Amazon?

I had the opportunity to work with the great folks from Amazon Watch once again as they raised more awareness about the Brazilian government’s plans to build the world’s third largest hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River which will dispel tens of thousands of people from their homes while affecting the fishing grounds for indigenous groups throughout the region. Once again they were in the good company of famed AVATAR director James Cameron and this time Mr. Cameron was with an old Hollywood friend. Surreal doesn’t begin to describe working in the company of people like this, especially in the middle of the Amazon and with historical environmental figures like Cacique Raoni, but then again you need to put aside the silliness of going ga-ga over celebrities and focus on the pressing issue at hand and what needs to be communicated.

No sense in writing too much about this, you can see the video I filmed and edited right here. Remember, the issue of Belo Monte is not over. Please get involved. We need the world to tell Brazilian President Dilma that 18th century destructive projects that trample the human rights of indigenous populations have no place in this new millennium.



Bem Estar Animal

I’ve long been an animal lover. I was even awarded the Humane Society of Toronto’s honour for “Outstanding Commitment to Animals” decades ago for a City TV news serial I filmed, hosted and produced about animal cruelty called “Cowards among us”. The news series also won Canada’s gold CanPro award for excellence in Canadian broadcasting.

Well, here in Brazil being an animal lover is indeed difficult given the state of many animals in this nation and the treatment they receive from the general population. Strays (called Vira latas here) are so endemic that few pay attention to them and they've literally become part of the Brazil’s landscape.

I’d always had the intention of producing something to shed some light on the problem of strays in Brazil and the general need to treat animals more humanely and with greater sympathy, then I met Maria Graca da Dutra. Graca is an animal rights activist who came to Florianopolis 10 years ago and decided to pick up the fight on behalf of animals. She met up with the right politics and created the first ever municipally funded clinic for animals which provides the city of Florianopolis with the infrastructure to spay and neuter strays so that they don’t continue to breed, but the clinic also provides veterinary services for poorer populations on island, as well as legally pursues those who commit acts of cruelty. Working concurrently with other NGOs a very successful adoption program was created which sees many of these strays removed from the streets, treated and then placed into warm and welcoming homes.

It’s an incredible program, one that sets out to educated the population as well as help animals, and interestingly enough it’s all controlled under the City’s Health department. Health officials here realized that if animals are healthy they are less likely to transmit diseases to people which makes for a more healthy population.

The idea behind the video is to show other municipalities in Brazil that there is a solution to their problems in terms of strays and that as this Nation continues to move forward it must once and for all address its sad record in dealing with animals.

We released a video trailer, seen below, with no fan fare and the trailer has already inspired Mayors from other municipalities to study this facility. Change is on the way for our furry friends in Brazil.

513 –

Ok it’s not saving the world, or a video with an important social or environmental message, but it’s historically significant and actually kinda cool too. I was asked 2 years ago to help the Schurmann family of Brazil document the search for a German u-boat that was sunk off the coast of Florianopolis 64 years ago. This would mean weeks at sea, bobbing up and down in a sailboat, while that sailing craft dragged along a side-scan sonar studying the ocean’s seabed in search of something large and mental and obviously not a fish. There was of course much more involved in pinpointing where this sub may lay, but let’s leave that for the documentary…k?

I had the pleasure of getting to know the researchers and the Schurmann family well over these two years and was always amazed that they never lost sight of finding this sub even when conditions were least than favorable.

Just two weeks ago the 513 was found. Again, I’ll avoid going into too many details other than to say that the official moment that the sub was found and recognized I was onboard filming the elation of this dedicated team, feeling like I was a part of that team.

I’m the only foreigner who was part of this large group and interestingly enough the 513 was the very same sub that entered Canadian waters 69 years ago and responsible for the sinking two Canadian ships during the battle of Bell island. I think it was fitting that a Canadian be onboard for this historic find.

Here’s the trailer I filmed and edited for this documentary, under the direction of David Schurmann.

More news to come.

Judge Suspends Belo Monte Dam project

A Brazilian judge has blocked plans to build a huge hydro-electric dam in the Amazon rainforest because of environmental concerns.

Although we should all take a moment to celebrate this decision, no one can let their guard down and believe this is the end of this project. Belo Monte has been a dream of the Brazilian government since the dictatorship in the 70's (apparently, no one is upset that a project created by a dictatorial and repressive regime over 3 decades ago is being embraced by a "progressive" and "liberal" government whose leaders were tortured under said military dictatorship - I digress). However, albeit brief, it is indeed good news.

Here's the caption underneath the photo posted in the BBC article

"The ruling follows protests by local indigenous groups"

Congratulations to all involved on that day of protest, it was a honour to film your work, dedication and spirit. Let's hope this nail in the project's coffin is strong enough to keep it sealed.

Here's the video from that day.

A Message from Pandora wins International Award

I had the opportunity to work with Mr. James Cameron, some of the cast of Avatar (Sigourney Weaver and Joel Moore) and the team from the environmental group Amazon Watch when they travelled back to the Amazon to talk further with native and community leaders about the government's plan to put a dam in the region. Images I filmed on that foray into the jungle were put into a new documentary by the Oscar winning director called " A message from Pandora" (see trailer below).

The documentary was included in last November's release of the collector's version of the ground-breaking and environmentally important 3D film " AVATAR". I only had the opportunity to see the production last week when a copy I ordered of the DVD set was sent from Canada to Brazil (the trials and tribulations of living in this nation I'll leave for another post). It's an incredibly important documentary highlighting one of the most disastrous projects to ever be considered for the Amazon.

The documentary won Germany's Cinema for PEACE international award. I hope this helps push the story farther around the globe and more learn about the Brazilian government's plans to uproot the lives of thousands of indigenous and local peoples in the area, for a project that doesn't make any sense economically or environmentally.

Congratulations to Amazon Watch, to James Cameron and all involved in this production, and the greater fight. I am happy to have helped in my small way.

Candiota III - Investimento em tragédias climáticas

This was a small video we threw together quickly about a month ago when learning the President of Brazil was going to inaugurate this coal burning climate changing plant. When the President's office got wind of activists in the area, she cancelled her plans. Now, the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul is giving IBAMA 15 days to suspend the licence of this plant which will spare the atmosphere of 2,76 million tons of CO2.

Pecuária ilegal em terra Xavante

Belo Monte: It's not too late!

A spot I wrote and created for Amazon Watch, and their struggle against the Belo Monte Dam project. I've been to the area in question a few times now, and it is one of the loveliest in the Amazon. The idea of flooding this area and uprooting the lives of those who call this part of the Amazon home is simply criminal. As one poster on another site put it to the politicians in Brazil: "How would you like it if we came to your home and put a forest in it".

600,000 Say No to Belo Monte Dam

A number of groups from the Amazon and elsewhere converged in Brazil's capital briging with them over 600,000 signatures opposing the government's plans to build a dam in the Amazon. I was called on by Amazon Watch the film and edit the days events, which led me into the President's Palace along side Cacique Raoni a legendary Kayapo warrior.

The signatures were delivered but to deaf ears. The Dilma Government has made it abundantly clear that they want this monstrous project to go through. See the video and the great work carried about by great groups concerned about this horrible Belo Monte Dam.

Floripa na Luta!

Sad news for Brazil, the Amazon and the world

Marina Silva's life and her fight to preserve the largest and most biologically diverse tropical rainforest on earth is not only inspirational but it would make for a great Hollywood film. Regrettfully, now that she has stepped down as Brazil's Environment Minister, the future of the Amazon and the final scene in this film could turn tragic.

No need to write anything, Keith knocks it out of the park