Unnatural Landscapes film screening and discussion with producer and historian Ronald Rudin on Oct 22, 2019
Join us at Acadia University for a film screening and discussion of Unnatural Landscapes on October 22nd, 2019 in the BAC 142 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM presented by Acadia Environmental and Sustainability Studies and the Acadia Sustainability Office
Unnatural Landscapes, directed by Bernar Hébert and produced/researched by Ronald Rudin, Professor of History at Concordia University focuses on marshlands in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that for over three centuries have been shielded from the tides of the Bay of Fundy by protective structures that allowed water to drain out to make farming possible. During the period after World War II, these structures were in bad condition, leading the federal government to create the Maritime Marshland Rehabilitation Administration (MMRA) to reconstruct or replace them. The film encourages reflection on the legacy of the MMRA and on what it means for a landscape to be "natural."
Unnatural Landscapes will be preceded by the screening of the 1954 NFB film, Les Aboiteaux (with English subtitles) which provides an earlier view of the same landscape.
The films will be followed by a post-screening discussion with the audience.
Ronald Rudin, author of seven books and producer of eight documentary films, carries out research that touches upon Canadian cultural and environmental history, with a particular focus on Atlantic Canada and its Acadian population. Most recently, he was the author of the award-winning, Kouchibouguac: Removal, Resistance and Remembrance at a Canadian National Park (University of Toronto Press, 2016), and the accompanying website: Returning the Voices to Kouchibouguac National Park/Le retour des voix au parc national Kouchibouguac.
Contact the Acadia Sustainability Office for more information at sustainability@acadiau.ca.