News
Alaskan Wilderness Films Used in National Campaign
Arlington, VA, October 15, 2009 – VideoTakes has completed two films for the Alaska Wilderness League that will be used in its national campaign to protect America’s Arctic from harmful drilling and mining operations.
The Reserve focuses on the unfortunately named National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, where current drilling operations produce over 500 oil spills and 70,000 tons of nitrous oxide annually. The Reserve is home to some of the most sensitive wildlife lands in the nation, as well as several communities of Alaska Natives. Development would not only affect the migratory patterns of animals and destroy ecosystems, but it would also harm the Native communities who rely on the land and water to survive.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge explores the dangers of opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. This pristine land is home to a vast array of birds, grizzly bears, musk oxen, polar bears and other wildlife, and it serves as a birthing ground for 120,000 caribou of the Porcupine Herd. Members of the Gwich’in tribe, who live south of the coastal plain, consider it the “scared place where life begins.”
The Alaska Wilderness League provided breathtaking HD footage of the landscapes and wildlife in both the Reserve and the Refuge, as well as first-hand accounts of the oil development from Alaska Natives who currently live in the Reserve. VideoTakes filmed additional interviews with members of the Gwich’in Tribe, who are fighting to get the coastal plain permanently protected as a wilderness area. Andrea Bloom produced the videos, and Olivia Yeo edited them.
Both videos will be used in the Alaska Wilderness League’s outreach campaigns.