Filmmaker Chanda Chevannes will screen and discuss her documentary “Unfractured” at Ithaca College on Friday, Nov. 2. Distinguished Scholar in Residence Sandra Steingraber — who is the subject of the film — will give a presentation prior to the screening. Free and open to the public, the program begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in Park Hall Auditorium.
“Unfractured” is a hopeful documentary about speaking data to power. The story follows Steingraber, a biologist and writer, as she uses science in her fight against fracking, the controversial process of injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals into the Earth’s crust in order to extract oil and gas. Unlike other films on the issue, “Unfractured” is not a polemic on the harms of fracking. Instead, it takes an intimate look at one activist’s convictions, hopes and sacrifices.
The film premiered in Ithaca last spring as part of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, and took the feature film jury prize at the EarthxFilm festival in Texas.
A cancer survivor, Steingraber was previously featured in “Living Downstream,” based on her book about the environmental links to cancer, which was also produced and directed by Chevannes.
Steingraber will introduce the film with a presentation providing some framing comments on women in science and the role of science, film, narrative and mass media in a time of climate emergency.
Following the screening, Chevannes will participate in an audience Q&A. Local environmental leaders also will be on hand to discuss ongoing fracking fights.
The event is cosponsored by the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and the Roy H. Park School of Communications.
For more information, visit www.unfractured.com.