Planet in Focus Honours Film Makers and Eco Heroes

Last night at the Royal Cinema in Little Italy, the Planet in Focus Film Festival, Canada's most acclaimed environmental film festival, wrapped up the 2007 annual of screenings and panels by recognizing some of the leaders in environmental film making and the environmental movement.

Nobel Peace Prize 2007 nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who has been at the forefront of the human rights movement and various initiatives to bring the Arctic and its peoples to the world's consciousness, was the winner of the festival's Canadian Eco Hero award. "Globalization is at the Arctic's doorstep," she proclaimed, "and it's not just the climate that is affected."

Awards for best Canadian and International shorts and features went to the following:

Best Canadian Short went to Paul Davis for -40 Degrees, which follows a substitute teacher on his ride to work by bicycle, in a frigid sub-Arctic town.

The award for Best International Short was given to Cherien Dabis for her film Make a Wish, which details a Palestinian girl's quest to buy a birthday cake in the occupied territories.

Neil Docherty (of CBC's The Fifth Estate fame) was awarded for Best Canadian Feature for his film Dead in the Water, which delves into the area of water privatization and commodification around the world.

And the award for Best International Feature went to French film maker Marion Hänsel for her film Sounds of Sand. Set in sub-Saharan Africa, the film travels with a family on a long journey in search of a dependable source of water.