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On The Line is one of the documentaries screening at this year’s Reel Green Film Fest.

It’s no coincidence that On the Line, the documentary chosen by Manitoba Eco-Network to kick off the third annual Reel Green Film Festival, concerns the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline — a controversial $5.5 billion mega-project that, if approved, would see a 1,170-kilometre pipeline built from Brudgerheim, Alta., to Kitimat, B.C.
   
Far from it, actually: Not only did the local non-profit environmental organization recognize the timeliness of the subject explored by filmmaker Frank Wolf in his 2011 feature — public hearings on the Northern Gateway pipeline began in B.C. earlier this month — it also saw an educational opportunity.
   
"We knew that we have a group right in our office who are experts on how that issue, the pipeline, relates to climate change — and that they could talk intelligently on this issue," says Manitoba Eco-Network executive director Kristine Koster, referring to Climate Change Connection, the provincially funded educational organization it administers.
   
Filmed over 53 days in the summer of 2010, On the Line follows Wolf and his buddy, Todd McGowan, as they travel by foot, bicycle, raft and kayak from Fort McMurray, the epicentre of Canada’s tar-sands industry, to B.C.’s west coast — a 2,400-km route that encompasses the entire length of the pipeline being proposed by Calgary-based company Enbridge.
   
Reached in Vancouver by phone, the 41-year-old says adding the extra length to the trip was a way of highlighting the fact that the bitumen transported by the pipeline would be exported to China via supertanker. Self-propelled travel, meanwhile, was simply a means to an end.
   
"That’s just how I do my trips," Wolf says of his movie-making style, which typically combines outdoor adventure with environmental awareness-raising
   
"If you’re feet-on-the-ground, moving along the landscape, people almost come to you," he adds. "It’s a good way to start a conversation."
   
In this case, those conversations helped shape the finished product. On the Line documents a shift in public opinion: from ambivalence and, at times, resignation in Alberta — where, perhaps tellingly, many people refused to speak on camera ("They’re very friendly folks, but they don’t want to stir the pot and they kind of just let these big, powerful organizations that control Alberta run right over them," Wolf says) — to vocal opposition in B.C.
   
"We get the people who we meet along the way to talk more about the pipeline issue," Wolf says. "They’re the narrators, and we’re the comic and adventure relief."
   
Representatives from Climate Change Connection will lead a discussion following the screening of On the Line on Friday, Feb. 3, at the West End Cultural Centre — part of an evening that will also include a reception (complete with food and a cash bar) and an awards presentation. Admission is $20.
   
Koster says the discussion will also touch on the Keystone XL pipeline. Another controversial proposal, the plan to transport bitumen from Alberta to Texas was rejected by the Obama administration last week in what some environmentalists heralded as an unprecedented victory against Big Oil; it’s expected that TransCanada, the Canadian company behind the project, will re-apply for permission to proceed in the near future.
   
The festival continues at noon the next day, Saturday, Feb. 4, at the University of Winnipeg with eight films screening three at a time in three time blocks. A facilitated discussion will take place after each film; $12 gets you into the entire day. The lineup includes Bag It, which investigates plastic’s effect on the Earth’s waterways and the human body; Harvesting Hope, a local offering about the struggles of Aboriginal communities in Northern Manitoba to access healthy food; and Koster’s personal favourite, Chemerical, which examines the toxicity of everyday household products.
   
Films are chosen by committee based on their content, educational value and ability to inspire action, Koster says, noting that a host of local environmental groups will be setting up informational displays throughout the venue so that audiences can learn how they can get involved with ongoing campaigns.
   
"Ultimately, we want people to leave feeling motivated to do something."
   
For more information or to buy advance tickets, go to www.mbeconetwork.org.