PLANET IN FOCUS International Environmental Film and Video Festival wrapped up with an Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 5 at Innis College Town Hall, in Toronto.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors of Planet in Focus, I salute the award-winners for their dedication and obvious passion in tackling diverse environmental issues, and for a job well done" said Candida Paltiel, festival director. "You are our ambassadors on the world".

2006 AWARD WINNERS

CANADIAN SHORT FORM
KAKA 'WIN (documentary, 2006)
Leah Nelson

A whale wanders into a remote B.C. fishing village, and a First Nations tribe believes kaka'win is the reincarnation of their deceased leader.



CANADIAN LONG FORM
REFUGEES FOR THE BLUE PLANET (documentary, 2006)
Jean-Philippe Duval and Helene Croquettte

Profiling the sinking island of Maldives, the eucalyptus plantations of Brazil and the tar sands in Alberta, Refugees puts a human face to the cost of development, and narrates destruction and displacement every bit as grim as war.


INTERNATIONAL SHORT FORM
BINTA AN THE GREAT IDEA
Javier Fesser (Spain/Senegal, drama, 2004)

A film that will make your heart swell!! A Senegalese girl, her cousin and her fisherman father have high dreams for their country.


INTERNATIONAL LONG FORM
CONFLICT TIGER
Sasha Snow (UK, documentary, 2005)

Will poor humans or hungry tigers survive the fight over land in eastern Siberia?


THE MARK HASLAM AWARD
In 2005, PIF launched a new award in recognition of festival founder Mark Haslam.
PRICE OF LETTER
Ugyen Wandgi (Bhutan, documentary, 2004)

Each month a postman makes a 12-day journey on foot through the mountains of the Himalayans, encountering natural obstacles with every turn of each season.

The 2006 film awards winners were chosen by jurors Dr. Beth Savan, Philip Jessup, Kirk Cooper and Jay Ferguson.


GREEN PITCH AWARD
A cash award of $3,500.00 goes to Christian Pena for development of his project.
Co-presenters CAW and CBC: The Nature of Things.


INDUSTRY ECO HERO AWARD WINNER
Filmmaker Martin Duckworth
Quebec Environmental activist Andre Belisle

Each year this award is granted to individuals in the Canadian film and video sector who have made an outstanding contribution to the creation and dissemination of environmental films and video.

Duckworth is currently filming the effects of Belisle to prevent the building of a recycling plant near the Etchemin River in Quebec which only recently re-introduced its salmon run.


COMMUNITY ECO HERO AWARD WINNER
Percy Schmeiser

Every year PIF recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the public's understanding of environmental issues. Percy Schmeiser, a farmer from Saskatchewan, has become an international symbol and spokesperson for the right of a farmer to save and re-use his own seed, speaking out on the dangers of the GMO crops.