''Revolution'' is a Canadian 2012 documentary film by Rob Stewart. It follows the filmmaker as he follows up on his earlier film, '' Sharkwater'', and examines both looming environmental collapse and what people, especially young people, are doing to avert it. The film's world premiere was at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in the TIFF Docs section.

Synopsis

While on assignment to photograph

sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

in the Galapagos Islands, Stewart became aware of illegal longlining, indiscriminately killing sharks within the

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

. In an effort to promote awareness of the situation, he decided to make a movie to bring people closer to sharks, a four-year effort that resulted in '' Sharkwater''.Rob Stewart Biography
accessed 2013.03.01. ''Revolution'' begins with Stewart and an assistant in the water with sharks, and expands from there to saving the ecosystems we depend on for survival. Stewart travels to 15 countries,Ben Kaplan
Rob Stewart puts swimming with sharks aside to start a Revolution
, ''National Post'', Dec. 9, 2012; accessed 2013.03.02. visiting such locations as the coral reefs of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, deforested regions of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, and the Alberta tar sands. He comes to the realization that all of our actions are interconnected and that environmental degradation, species loss, ocean acidification, pollution, and scarcity of food and water are limiting, even reducing, the Earth's ability to support humans.Revolution Movie Synopsis
accessed 2013.03.01. Traveling the globe to meet with the individuals and organizations working on a solution, Stewart finds encouragement and hope, variously pointing to the revolutions of the past and highlighting the current work of selected people. If people were informed about what was really going on, he argues, they would fight for their future, and the future of other generations. In time, he concentrates on the efforts of the young, as they have the most to lose: climate change and environmental collapse could take long enough that their elders may not be around to see the worst of what they have done.

Release

After screening at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

, the movie was released on April 12, 2013. United Conservationists planned a campaign to dovetail with the release.United Conservationists,
Revolution
; accessed 2013.03.02.

References

External links

* * * * {{Metacritic film 2012 films 2012 in the environment English-language Canadian films 2012 documentary films Canadian documentary films Documentary films about animal rights Documentary films about environmental issues Documentary films about nature Films about sharks Shark finning Films directed by Rob Stewart Films scored by Jeff Rona 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films English-language documentary films