Professional Motion Picture Production and Distribution NEWS
James Cameron and Avatar Cast Shine Spotlight on Real Battles to Defend 'Pandoras on Earth'
By Staff
posted Aug 31, 2010, 23:00 |
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"A Message From Pandora" Tells the Story of the Battle to Stop
the Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon
(Los Angeles) Timed with the re-release of Avatar in theatres, acclaimed director
James Cameron has teamed up with Amazon Watch to produce a short feature "A
Message from Pandora." The documentary spotlights the battle to stop the
massive Belo Monte Dam Complex on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon, which
thousands of local Indigenous people have vowed to resist, citing its potential
devastating impact on their communities and the rainforest environment. A 3-minute
trailer of the feature was launched today on the Avatar's movie website, inviting
Avatar fans to join the campaign to stop the Belo Monte Dam and defend the rainforest.
James Cameron became inspired by the story after he and cast members of Avatar
including Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore traveled to the Xingu River
in April. During their trip, the delegation visited communities who would be
adversely affected by the dam. The $17 billion project would divert the flow
of the Xingu River; its reservoirs would flood 668 square kilometers, displace
more than 20,000 people and generate methane -- a greenhouse gas 25 times more
potent than carbon dioxide.
Reflecting on his visit to the Xingu River, Cameron commented: "Here were
people whose lives were going to be altered irrevocably, whose communities were
going to be destroyed, literally put under water, or affected negatively as
the river's flow would change. For these people, it's the end of their world,
as they know it."
Sigourney Weaver is also lending her support in defense of the Amazon and its
people by collaborating with Amazon Watch, International Rivers, and Brazilian
organizations on a state of the art digital animation to illustrate the devastating
impacts of the dam-- to be released next week.
"The Avatar spotlight comes at a critical time for the battle to stop
the Belo Monte Dam. Just yesterday, the Brazilian government signed the contract
to build the dam, ignoring warnings about the project's serious ecological,
financial and technical risks," said Atossa Soltani, Executive Director
of Amazon Watch.
Watch a 3-min Trailer on Avatar's Movie website or on www.messagefrompandora.org
Resources:
http://www.amazonwatch.org
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