The Challenge: Our Future

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PRIVATE SCREENING Come join us for an exclusive private screening of
"THE CHALLENGE: OUR FUTURE" at The Pacific Cinematheque (1131 Howe Street).
Buckle up for this thought-provoking film that explores some of the many pressing issues facing our world today- using the Built Environment as a lens of inquiry into "civilization's" impact on our Planet.

In our green washed era of business-as-usual sustainability goals of being 'less bad', regenerative design principles ask us instead “what does good look like?", and indeed, how can we embody and regenerate that?

If sustainability has the aim of doing less and less harm, with the goal of achieving a hypothetical neutral steady-state, regenerative design flips the script entirely and instead looks to nature's ability to regenerate and thrive, and uses that as a template for how our societies design our systems.

This short film investigates the both philosophical and concrete foundations of how we find ourselves in this historical moment of ecological crises, using the visionary frameworks within The Living Building Challenge, and its creator Jason McLennan. Created in 2006 as a seemingly impossible challenge to the architectural design and engineering community, the LBC asks us all "what if every single act of design made the world a better place?". These buildings are net positive energy, net positive water, non-toxic, treat their own sewage wastes on site using biological means, and along the way achieve unparalleled comfort and health to their occupants- and the world.

Filmmakers David Henderson-Hean and Todd Brooks follow Jason and other key figures in the green building industry down the rabbit hole, unraveling some of the foundational assumptions that our civilization rests upon. Along the way we hear from diverse speakers including David Suzuki, Paul Hawken, Jannine Benyous, Sim Van der Ryn, David Korten, James Howard Kunstler, Marjora Carter, Denis Hayes, and Vandana Shiva.

The Challenge features the breathtaking cinematography of local talents Corey Robson and Grant Baldwin, as well a powerful musical score by Vancouver composer, Aiden Ayers.

Please join us for a screening and brief Q&A discussion and post screening mingle, to celebrate the completion of this labour of love project that began in 2008.
This event is also a fundraiser to help us pay for submission fees for film festival entries and related costs. If you like what you've seen and want to help the film to be seen by others, please consider making a donation :^].

This film was made possible through the generous support of the BC Arts Council, as well as the Martin-Fabert Institute.

Email d.h.hean[at]gmail[dot]com with inquiries, or to purchase tickets via E-transfer. Please note the number of tickets purchased in the transfer memo!