Local artists Glen Andersen and Marina Szijarto are presenting a Richmondite-generated, three-dimensional documentary that takes you on a tour of the “lifeblood” of Richmond — the Fraser River.
On Thursday, at the Richmond Cultural Centre, the public can walk around a number of screens that project roughly 200, 15-second video clips of the Fraser River from 35 participants, plus Andersen and Szijarto’s contributions.
The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and repeats until 8:30 p.m. with live music in between. There is no specific time you need to show up, said Andersen, as the 50-minute film is said not to have a beginning or end.
Andersen said the “crowd-sourced community montage” is named The Voice of the River and it was intended to allow the public to share what they felt was important to them vis-à-vis the Fraser River.
“The theme was what you like about the Fraser, because we wanted people to think if they want to see the Fraser sustainable in the decades to come, then the best way is to express what you love about it,” said Andersen.
“It tends to be ecological, but it covers other beneficial aspects like farming. There are shots of tugboats because people are into boats. And there are some historical clips as well,” added Andersen.
Last week, Andersen and Szijarto wrote on the project website about why generating video clips, shot on smartphones, was important:
“Richmond would not exist if not for the river and all the sediments carried from its interior valleys for tens of thousands of years. The life in and along the river, especially the health of the Lower Fraser estuary, has been under threat from industry and development for decades. But if we can’t identify what we love about it, how can we be motivated to preserve it?
“This project takes advantage of the fact that almost everyone carries a camera these days and can shoot and post a movie in minutes. The intent is to harness and focus all of that visual creative capacity in the service of a broad but singular theme: to foster an increased awareness of the Fraser, including its shorelines, from headwaters to estuary, its beauty, history and present-day assets, as well as threats due to industrialization and climate change.”
To that end, he admits there likely wouldn’t have been submitted clips of LNG tanks along the river (although one could have submitted such a clip, he said). However, there are elements of the film that show the built landscapes along the river, such as Steveston Harbour.
“We did get shots of the port as well. But it was with sea lions camping out. So I guess that could be an uneasy relationship,” quipped Andersen.
A member of local environmental group Fraser Voices, Andersen perceives numerous threats to the Fraser River Estuary, including imminent plans to barge jet fuel up the South Arm to Riverport, expand LNG shipments and add coal tankers to and from Surrey Fraser Docks. Not only do the fossil fuels pose an immediate danger to the river, they also add carbon emissions that are raising ocean levels, which will imperil the river’s saline levels and thus its ability to irrigate farmland near the mouth.
The Voice of the River already had a presentation in Steveston on World Rivers Day on Sept. 23. The video will eventually go online at TheVoiceOfTheRiver.com.
Szijarto, an installation artist and events coordinator, was largely responsible for the three-dimensional presentation while Andersen, a filmmaker, led the editing process.
“I’ve been working on some independent films in Richmond and Marina . . . she guided the sculptural installation part of it,” explained Andersen.
