A White Pine Pictures and National Film Board of Canada Production
Variety says:
"… Reed's portrait isn't that Orbinski is defiant of danger,
but that his sense of decency is so strong it over-powers any fear."
USA Today writes:
"The film, in a literal sense, shows the difference one person can make."
The Filmmakers:
Patrick Reed – Director
Peter Raymont – Producer
Silva Basmajian – Producer/Executive Producer for the NFB
Michèle Hozer – Picture Editor
88 minutes
2007
World Premiere: International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2007
North American Premiere: Sundance Film Festival 2008
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
CRITICAL RESPONSE
"… Reed's portrait isn't that Orbinski is defiant of danger, but that his sense of decency is so
strong it over-powers any fear." - John Anderson, Variety
"The film, in a literal sense, shows the difference one person can make." - Anthony Breznican,
USA Today
"Director Patrick Read doesn't go for easy tearjerking, in spite of footage that would easily allow
it. Instead, he does the harder trick of enlivening Orbinski's intellectual debate with himself
about the reach and the limits of humanitarianism." - Salt Lake Tribune
"Five Inspirational Stars to Orbinski, Reed and Peter Raymont's company which has brought us
Shake Hands with the Devil, Ariel Dorfmann and now this great stimulation on humanitarianism"
- Peter Wintonick, POV Magazine
"This film I found was one of the most visually and morally strong and soulful films at this year’s
IDFA edition." - Kookie Habtegaber, MediaChannel
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
SYNOPSES:
SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Dr. James Orbinski has personally witnessed a world gone mad as a doctor during the
Rwandan genocide, the Somali famine and other catastrophes. In Triage: Dr. James
Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma, the past president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
takes the viewer on a heart-wrenching journey back to the land and people whose life-anddeath struggle marked him forever. The film is directed by Patrick Reed and produced by Peter
Raymont (White Pine Pictures) in co-production with Silva Basmajian (NFB).
MID-LENGTH SYNOPSIS:
The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited
resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who
lives; who dies. In Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma, director Patrick
Reed follows Dr. James Orbinski on a heart-wrenching journey back to the lands and people
whose life-and-death struggle marked him forever. Orbinski accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace
Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as their president and was a field doctor
during the Somali famine and the Rwandan genocide.
The film is produced by Peter Raymont of White Pine Pictures, the creative team of the Emmy
Award-winning Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire. Triage: Dr. James
Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma is co-produced by Silva Basmajian (NFB).
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
LONG SYNOPSIS:
The act of triage is the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited
resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment; who gets food; who
lives; who dies. This impossible dilemma understandably haunts humanitarians like Dr. James
Orbinski, who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF) as their president, and was a field doctor during the Somali famine and the Rwandan
genocide, among other catastrophes.
Having seen the best and worst of humanitarian assistance and of humanity itself, Orbinski
embarks on his most difficult mission to date—writing a deeply personal and controversial book
that struggles to make sense of it all.
Leaving his young family behind in Toronto, Canada—where he’s a university professor and
doctor—Orbinski returns to Africa, revisiting the past and engaging with the present. He hopes
that here, in the place where he witnessed humanity literally torn apart, he can rediscover the
true heart of humanitarianism.
In Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma, Patrick Reed’s feature-length
documentary, Orbinski travels to war-torn Somalia, the first place he was posted with MSF in
1992; then to Rwanda, where he was MSF Head of Mission during the 1994 genocide. Finally
he goes to Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, where it seems humanitarian dreams go to
die.
Filmed in an intense vérité style, Triage presents a unique view of the world through the
penetrating eyes of Orbinski. He refuses to turn away when confronting troubling memories or
realizing disturbing truths and, in the most unlikely of places, he finds where bonds of solidarity
are forged and human spirits remain unbroken.
Orbinski has seen lives saved and lives lost and has personally witnessed a world gone astray.
In Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma, he searches for a new path and
invites the viewer to follow.
The 88-minute film is produced by Peter Raymont of White Pine Pictures, the creative team of
the Emmy Award-winning documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo
Dallaire. Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma is co-produced by Silva
Basmajian (NFB).
###
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
SELECTED QUOTES FROM DR. JAMES ORBINSKI
On humanitarian crises:
“I still have, and I always will I think, a nearly uncontainable rage about what happened in Rwanda, in
Somalia and in many other parts of the world and about what’s happening now in many parts of the world.
To see mothers and fathers and children dying of indifference, dying of neglect, of abuse, of somebody’s
political calculation, that that doesn’t matter. It fills me first of all with just profound sorrow that they have
to live that and die it. And then it fills me with rage, frankly. And the question then is what do you do?
What do you do with that?”
“We are responsible for our lives and for our world. And if we don’t engage that responsibility, no one else
will and we will live or die with a legacy of our failures.”
On humanitarianism:
“Humanitarianism, since the end of the Cold War, has undergone a major transformation and many of the
basic principles and ideas that underlie humanitarian practice have been co-opted under a military
political agenda and we now have humanitarian wars. And if you just think about that, that’s a complete
oxymoron.
“If you look now in a post 9-11 world, the very states that are waving the humanitarian flag are at the
same time torturing, either directly or complicitly. And I’m writing with a view to reclaim that language and
to reclaim my understanding of what humanitarianism is about. Hopefully showing people a different way
of seeing, a different way of seeing the world that we are in.”
On Somalia in 1992:
“There were displaced people literally everywhere. Just imagine thin-boned people walking down the
street with whatever they have left – one or two children, too weak to move. They were hungry, they were
sick. They were dying literally on the streets. And under those circumstances you have to focus on what it
is that you’re here to do. We were trying to provide food and medical care for upwards of 150,000 people
who had flocked into Baidoa. They were sitting silently, waiting for food. And that’s what I remember the
most is the silence. Children were so weak that they couldn’t even lift a spoon to their mouth. And too
weak to even yell or be upset because the food isn’t here or it’s late or whatever. Too weak to even assert
themselves. That’s what a feeding centre looks like.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
On Rwanda in 1994 (where he was MSF Head of Mission):
“The genocide in Rwanda was THE most transformative moment in my life. Much as I love my wife and
much as I love my children, I know that the single most powerful moment of insight for me was here.”
“The genocide was a collective act. What made it possible, what made that final political crime possible
was the absence, the erasure of seeing the other, of knowing, of feeling, of being with the other. And
when that’s removed, then politics can become genocidal.”
On writing his book, An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century:
“On a personal level I’m definitely writing for my children. I want them to know who their father is. How I
have really struggled to live in a way that I think and feel is right. I want them to understand that there’s no
perfect answer, but there’s the right question. And there’s a right way to live your question. And,
therefore, to live your life. There are so many crucial issues that have to be addressed… global warming,
the war on terror, the use of torture… and none of these will be addressed unless we take our
responsibility as human beings and from a place that respects the dignity of others, including our
enemies. … This is the lens. This is the way to see the world.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
Q & A WITH DIRECTOR PATRICK REED
When did you first hear of Dr. James Orbinski’s story, and why did you want to make it into a
documentary?
“I first met James in Rwanda in 2004. Peter Raymont and I were there making a film about the 1994
Rwandan genocide and General Romeo Dallaire’s return for the 10th anniversary commemoration.
“Like Dallaire, James had been based in Rwanda during the genocide, as Head of Mission for Médecins
Sans Frontières; and like Dallaire, the experience of witnessing genocide while the outside world turned a
blind eye understandably haunted him.
“Unlike Dallaire, though, Rwanda was just one of many humanitarian catastrophes that James had
personally experienced: Somalia during the 1992 civil war and famine, Afghanistan, refugee crises in
Zaire, Kosovo, among others. I was curious to know why he kept going back, what compelled him, and
how he was able to deal with the fallout without being consumed by either rage or despair.
“I knew James by reputation, of course, as past President of MSF when they won the 1999 Nobel Peace
Prize. But at the end of one long day of shooting, I spent a few hours with him, and Producer Peter
Raymont, and Gerry Caplan, an International Affairs Analyst. James was an unusual mixture of someone
who was at times guarded, and at other times intensely raw and aggressively honest. I immediately
wanted to find out more about him, to understand him better.
“On a more personal level, I couldn’t help feel both inspired and challenged by James. When he was MSF
Head of Mission during the Rwandan genocide he was only 34 years old—the same age as I when we
were in Rwanda making Shake Hands with the Devil. I kept wondering what would I have done if I were in
his position. Would I have gone? Would I have stayed? Would I have been overwhelmed?”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
Is there a problem making a film about Africa through the eyes of an outsider, particularly a white
outsider?
“There’s always a danger making a film about Africa, for instance, through the eyes of a white guy, like
James. If done crudely, it can play into the dangerous stereotype that Africans are passive victims, and
somehow need saving from the heroic outsider—a kind of updated version of the old White-Man’s
Burden.
“Before filming, James and I talked a lot about this. He kept stressing that although he was the subject of
the film, the film wasn’t really about him. He didn’t simply want it to be about retracing his steps, revisiting
his past; it had to be about engaging with the present, meeting with locals, using his eyes as an entry
point, helping share their stories with the rest of the world.
“Yes, people may watch the film because of an initial interest in James, but they should leave with images
and memories of people like Lesto in Somalia, or Emmanuel in Rwanda, people who James encounters
in the film. It is their story as much as it is James’.”
Your films, including this one, tell very important and upsetting stories. Why do you continue to
enter war zones to tell these stories?
“Yes, the stories are important and often upsetting, but we rarely enter war zones. I’m not a particularly
brave person, and we avoid, or at least minimize, danger wherever possible—for that reason, among
others, we didn’t film in Afghanistan, even though James had been based there with MSF in the past.
“There are many important and essential filmmakers and journalists who cover conflicts, and such
coverage is invaluable. However, there is a tendency for media outlets to leave once there is a “sexier”
conflict somewhere else, or once it gets too dangerous, or conversely once things quiet down and the
“drama” is over. That’s where we, as documentary filmmakers, come in.
“Often the real story is the fallout, the lingering conflict, the forgotten emergency, and this is what is rarely
covered in mainstream media.
“We did some filming in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, specifically because it’s
largely off the media radar. Over 4 million people have been killed in the region over the last decade in
what some commentators have called Africa’s First World War. Despite the horrific numbers and the
unspeakable atrocities that have been committed there, the Western media largely ignores the area for a
number of reasons—only showing up briefly when there’s a major cholera epidemic or a volcano, for
instance, dramatic images, an easy story.
“What we hope to do when filming in Congo, for instance, or Somalia, or even Rwanda is both to show
what happens when the media cameras leave, and also to give a different picture of a place, ideally
elevating the people from mere images of despair on the evening news, and actually giving them back
their humanity, by hearing their stories, and including them as “characters” in our film.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
What kind of preparations did you undergo before entering a former conflict zone?
“Preparations are key. It’s absolutely essential that both your crew and your main character, in this case
James, feel relatively secure. Before going on shoots there is a long process of gathering information
from a variety of sources about the situation on the ground—using networks of journalists, humanitarian
organizations, and locals. Always checking and cross-checking sources, and always making sure your
information is as up-to-date as possible since the situations in places like Congo and Somalia are
extremely fluid, with power structures and security changing day-to-day.
“Contacts are essential. Dropping the wrong name, or trusting the wrong person can mean the difference
between life and death.
“After months of preparation, it literally came down to a last-minute decision before we decided to enter
Somalia. There was active fighting in the country, the borders were officially closed, the people in the
transitional government who were providing safe passage were in a constant state of flux, making it
difficult to know who was really in power.
“Ultimately, we did our risk assessment, and in this case followed James’ lead. He was comfortable, so
we were comfortable. Many times in the past as a humanitarian doctor, James had been forced to make
similar decisions about entering a place during a time of crisis. He kept stressing the similarity between
our own determination to go in and film, and his own assessments in the past.
“We made a few final calls from the airport tarmac, were further reassured, then got on our charter plane
and flew from Nairobi to Somalia.”
What kinds of danger did you and the crew face?
“The dangers were thankfully minimal. Rwanda is a relatively safe country for foreigners, and we have
lots of good contacts there. James is remembered well due to his work there with MSF during the
genocide. My crew who I’ve worked with many times before in Africa, John Westheuser and Ao Loo, had
both been to Rwanda with me in the past, so there was a built-in comfort level.
“Eastern Congo is a dangerous, volatile place, but we had good intelligence (both from MSF and through
our fixer, Moses, who was from Goma) and were able to avoid or easily defuse most tense moments.
“In Somalia, we limited ourselves to Baidoa, which was rather safe, at least relative to other places in
Somalia. Plus we had a number of armed guards in our entourage, which is always comforting, assuming
they’re friendly, which they were.
“Most importantly, we were met in Baidoa by Lesto, a former MSF employee who was a personal friend of
James’. Lesto had come down to Baidoa from Mogadishu to make sure we were well taken care of.
“During his time with us in Baidoa, Lesto’s residence in Mogadishu had been bombed and many of the
occupants killed. He jokingly said that he was supposed to keep us safe, but our presence actually saved
his life. Somalia is a strange, challenging place.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
How difficult was it for you and your crew to hear these peoples’ stories and visit some of these
haunting locations?
“You’re so caught up in the process of the filming that it’s possible to maintain some degree of distance
even during the most difficult moments.
“It often hits you at the end of the day, when you return to the hotel and put the gear down. Then you rely
on your crew, your friends, to decompress. Thankfully, we all get along very well—John, Ao, James, and
Steve Simon, our stills photographer—and knew that we could always lean on each other for support.
“Ultimately, though, you have to keep it in perspective. You’re only visiting these places. You come from a
position of extreme privilege and will be returning to your families and relatively comfortable existence in
Toronto.
“To hear the stories and spend time with genocide survivors in Rwanda, or rape victims in Congo, or
Internally Displaced Persons in Somalia, is on the one hand difficult, but on the other hand it’s an
incredible privilege. These people are sharing some of their most intimate details with you, and trust you
to tell their story with honesty and dignity.
“It’s a rare opportunity and a real responsibility, to be embraced rather than avoided.”
Throughout the film, we see Dr. Orbinski working on his book, and hear various people speaking
about the importance of his writing as a means to process and deal with the events he survived.
How do you think this film fits into that process?
“There is an excessive emphasis in Western culture on healing—whether physical or psychic—on
overcoming and moving on. What’s fascinating about Dr. James Orbinski is he consciously struggles with
the most painful memories and addresses the most difficult current realities not to lessen his burden but
to share it with others, compelling us to see the world in a different way. He lives honestly, with as little
fear as possible, and invites others to do the same.
“Writing the book and participating in the filmmaking was for James, I think, part of this process. It was not
therapeutic in the colloquial sense of the word—that is, it wasn’t a way for him to get over it. But rather it
was and is a way for him honour the past, engage with the present, and hopefully transform the future.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
Please expand on the film’s title Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma.
“The act of triage, particularly in a humanitarian crisis, is a gut-wrenching process. You have limited
resources, and an overwhelming number of people who need treatment, forcing you to make split-second
decisions about who gets treatment, in what order, often forcing you to directly or indirectly determine
who will live, and who will die.
“As James says in the film, he doesn’t have regrets about such decisions but he has complete outrage
about the circumstances that created that situation where that kind of decision had to be made.
“On a much smaller scale, storytelling (such as filmmaking; or in James’ case writing his memoir)
demands a kind of triage. To construct a coherent narrative, you are forced to make difficult decisions
about what goes in to the story, and what stays out—or to extend the metaphor, what “lives” through the
story, or what “dies.”
“It’s a creative decision but it also becomes a personal one. For instance, one of the most difficult
moments during the filmmaking was spending time with young rape victims in Goma, DRC [Democratic
Republic of Congo]. Their stories were heartbreaking, but just as heartbreaking is the fact that their voices
are not heard, their stories are not known in the West.
“Perhaps it’s a conceit on my part, but I still work with the illusion that stories matter, that documentaries
matter, and told in the right way, seen by the right people, they can change the way people look at the
world, and ideally affect change.
“In the edit suite, we were forced to leave the rape victims out of the story. It was our little act of creative
triage. Again, nothing like what humanitarian intervenors have to deal with, but a decision that leads to
silence rather than life nonetheless.”
Why did you make the film? What is your message to the audience?
“I initially made the film because of a personal interest in James, and a hope that through his eyes the
viewer could see into another world.
“It’s not a “message” film in the traditional sense. It’s not neat and tidy. It’s rugged and unresolved,
intentionally so. I’m hoping the audience is challenged to at least start asking different questions about
the world.”
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
BIOGRAPHIES:
DR. JAMES ORBINSKI
Dr. Orbinski is past international president (1998-2001) of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors
Without Borders. MSF is the world’s largest fully independent medical humanitarian organization with
over 400 projects in more than 80 different countries. In 1999 MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Orbinski has represented MSF in numerous settings and emergencies in the past years, including at the
UN Security Council, many national parliaments, the World Health Organization (WHO), The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Office of the UNHCR, in the Sudan,
Kosovo, Russia, Cambodia, South Africa, India and Thailand. He is noted for his clear, strong stance that
insists on the duty of states to respect people’s right to humanitarian assistance in war or other instances
of political failure, and on our individual responsibility to act meaningfully in the face of human suffering.
He worked as MSF’s Head of Mission in Goma, Zaire (now known as Democratic Republic of Congo) in
the fall of 1996 during the refugee crisis. He was MSF’s Head of Mission in Kigali during the Rwandan
genocide of 1994; medical coordinator in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in the winter of 1994; and MSF's medical
coordinator in Baidoa, Somalia during the civil war and famine of 1992-1993.
Orbinski was a co-founder of MSF Canada in 1991 and its vice president until 1995. He is currently a full
board member of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the Initiative on Pharmaceutical Technology Transfer to
Africa and Dignitas International – all new Canadian or international NGOs focusing on improving the
lives of people suffering from infectious diseases in the developing world.
Orbinski has received many awards and honorary degrees, including in 1997 the Meritorious Service
Cross, Canada’s highest civilian citation, for his work in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.
As international president of MSF, Orbinski launched its now globally successful Access to Essential
Medicines Campaign. He believes that access to essential medicines is a critical global health issue.
Since leaving the presidency of MSF, and while at Massey College and the Munk Centre for International
Studies (University of Toronto), he has focused on working with MSF and the WHO to create a global notfor-profit R&D initiative to develop drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for the most neglected diseases of the
developing world.
He is currently completing his book, An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the 21st Century,
which has an expected release date of spring 2008. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
PATRICK REED
Director
A decade ago, Patrick Reed abandoned a PhD program in History (with a focus on genocide studies) to
work on documentaries, first as a writer/researcher, then as a director. Many of his films explore human
rights issues in a vérité style, following compelling characters as they struggle with the past and present.
Reed has collaborated with Peter Raymont on several White Pine Pictures’ award-winning productions
over the years, playing a key creative role on Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo
Dallaire.
Recently Reed directed Tsepong: A Clinic Called Hope, a cinema vérité chronicle of the work of doctors
and nurses fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Lesotho, Africa. Tsepong received the 2006 Deborah
Fletcher Award from the Canadian International Development Agency for Best Documentary dealing with
international issues. It is also a multiple Gemini Award nominee and has been screened internationally at
various film festivals.
Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma had its world premiere at the 2007 International
Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The North American premiere of Triage will be at
Sundance 2008.
PETER RAYMONT
Producer, White Pine Pictures
Filmmaker, journalist and writer Peter Raymont has produced and directed over 100 documentary films
and series during his 34-year career. His films have taken him to Ethiopia, Nicaragua, India, Rwanda, the
High Arctic and throughout North America and Europe.
Raymont is the recipient of 35 international prizes, including the Canadian Genie, four Geminis, several
Gold and Silver Hugos, The Sesterce d’Argent and other international honours. His documentary feature
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire was honoured with the Audience Award for
World Cinema Documentaries at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and a 2007 Emmy for Best
Documentary.
Raymont’s recent feature documentary film, A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman,
which premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, explores exile, memory, longing and
democracy, seen through the experiences of the bestselling American-Argentinean writer and playwright.
Raymont is also the executive producer of a new 13-episode, 1-hour, dramatic series, The Border,
premiering on CBC television in January 2008.
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
SILVA BASMAJIAN
Producer/Executive Producer for The National Film Board
Since 1976, Silva Basmajian’s more than 60 NFB films have garnered numerous awards, with many
premiering at more than 200 international festivals, including Berlin, Toronto and Sundance.
As executive producer of the NFB Ontario Centre, Basmajian oversees English-language production in
the province, fostering partnerships among broadcasters and other industry leaders. She works with
established filmmakers and cultivates new and emerging talent while championing social issue
documentaries.
Since her appointment in 2004, she has explored innovative ways to tell Canadian and international
stories. Her initiative to create short films downloadable onto cellphones has received international
attention, and she was instrumental in the development of North America’s first interactive dramatic
feature film, Late Fragment, co-produced with the Canadian Film Centre.
MICHÈLE HOZER
Picture Editor
Michèle Hozer, a two-time Gemini award-winning documentary editor, has been working in the Canadian
film industry since 1987. She started her career at The National Film Board of Canada, working first in
production, then as an editor. She received her first Gemini in 2000 for The Nature of Things on their
millennium special Race for the Future, and a second in 2005 for her work on the critically acclaimed
feature-length documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire.
In August 2001, Hozer established The Cutting Factory, ensuring the best possible editing environment
within the audio post facility of Kitchen Sync. She has cut over 50 documentaries, including such awardwinning series as The Baby Human, The Undefended Border and China Rises. Hozer recently edited the
feature-length documentary A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, which had its
world premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, and has been short-listed for an Oscar
nomination.
###
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
CREDIT LIST:
Director: Patrick Reed
Producer: Peter Raymont
Producer/Executive Producer for The National Film Board of Canada: Silva Basmajian
Editor: Michèle Hozer
Photography: John Westheuser
Sound Recording: Ao Loo
Music: Mark Korven
Production Supervisor: Janice Dawe
Additional Photography: Walter Corbett CSC
Additional Sound Recording: Ian Challis, Peter Sawade
Sound Supervisor: Russell Walker
Sound Editors: Steve Payne, Jakob Thiesen
Re-recording Mixers: Steve Payne, Ian Rodness
Stills Photographer: Steve Simon
Produced by White Pine Pictures in co-production with The National Film Board of Canada.
Produced in Association with Global Television, a Division of CanWest MediaWorks Inc.
Produced with the support of The Government of Canada through the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA).
Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]
ABOUT WHITE PINE PICTURES:
White Pine Pictures is an independent Canadian film and television production company based in
Toronto. Working with the best Canadian writers, cinematographers and post-production talent, the
company has earned over 40 accolades, including Genies, Geminis, Hugos, The Sesterce d'Argent and
many other international honours. In 2005, their documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey
of Roméo Dallaire received the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentaries at the Sundance Film
Festival and in 2007, a News and Documentary Emmy Award. White Pine Pictures has made
documentaries for all Canadian broadcasters, and internationally for BBC and Channel 4 (UK), PBS-ITVS
and National Geographic (U.S.), France 2, SVT (Sweden), ABC and SBS (Australia) among others. For
more information about White Pine Pictures, go to <www.whitepinepictures.com> or call 1-416-703-5580.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA:
The National Film Board of Canada produces and distributes bold and distinctive social issue
documentaries, auteur animation and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian
perspective. Since its founding in 1939, the NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000
awards, including more than 90 Genies. The NFB also received its 12th Academy Award® this year for the
animated short The Danish Poet, directed by Torill Kove and co-produced by Norway’s Mikrofilm AS and
the NFB. The NFB is renowned for its technical innovations and is a leader in content for new platforms.
For more information about the NFB or to order films, go to <www.nfb.ca> or call 1-800-267-7710.
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Marketing Contact:
Leslie Stafford, National Film Board of Canada
T: 204.983.0140, E: [email protected]
Publicity Contact:
Jenn Humphries, National Film Board of Canada
T: 416.952.8960, E: [email protected]