A history of Greenpeace on film

By Dan Hiborn
Published Dec. 3, 2005


A documentary film that looks at how a small group of environmental activists from Vancouver were able to spark a worldwide movement under the Greenpeace banner is taking shape in the basement studio of a busy Burnaby filmmaker.

Chris Aikenhead, who has worked on CBC's Life and Times, the Discovery Network's Champions of the Wild series and PBS's Nova, is putting the final touches on Greenpeace: Making a Stand, an hour- long retrospective that will air on Global Television next year.

The movie, which opens to the music of the 1960s song Spirit in the Sky, is more than just an historical retrospective of Greenpeace, as documentary producer and director Leigh Badgley wanted to shine light on the spiritual side of the environmental movement, Aikenhead said.

"When people commit to something that they care about, other forces will come into play," said Aikenhead, who has worked as writer, editor and sound recordist for the project.

Admittedly, this was more than just a simple research project for the Burnaby-based filmmaker. Aikenhead is a longtime friend and collaborator with many of Greenpeace's founders, including Bob Hunter, who passed away earlier this year, and Rex Weyler who, at the age of 59, is still active and travelling around the world.

The film opens with a look at the Greenpeace Jaguars, a group of activists currently working to save the Argentinean rainforest by harassing bulldozers with their motorbikes. Aikenhead was joined on his trip south by Weyler, who shared his vision with the Argentineans and helped win a major victory in the jungle.

Earlier this fall, just days after Aikenhead and Weyler returned from South America, the Jaguars were invited on to the most popular daytime television talk show in the country, hosted by former international soccer star Diego Maradona. With the media spotlight in their favour, Argentina's president, Nestor Kirschner, announced that he would block the sale of a large portion of the disputed Pizzaro forest reserve to a company that wanted to clear the land and plant soybeans.

Aikenhead said the unexpected victory came after years of unseen protests in the thick jungles, and is just one of hundreds of serendipitous moments that has helped Greenpeace grow from a ragtag group of agitators in Vancouver into what is probably the most respected environmental movement in the world.

Among the scenes in the movie are several unusual incidents that defy explanation and attest to the nearly mystical aura that surrounds Greenpeace.

One such incident was in the mid-1970s when the Greenpeace vessel Phyllis Cormak went in search of Russian whaling ships. One night, after searching the seas unsuccessfully for months, the captain turned the wheel over to an inexperienced steersman, who saw an inexplicable rainbow in the evening sky. The pilot, who had more faith in the I-Ching than any navigational chart, steered the ship off course and followed the rainbow. When the captain woke up the next morning, he started berating the erstwhile pilot, until the crew realized that they could see the Russian whaling ships on the horizon.

Another moment of serendipity came when Greenpeace founder Bob Hunter decided to shock the world by filming the actual harpooning of a whale. Cameraman Fred Easton was tasked with filming the harpoon shot, but as their small rubber Zodiac boat moved closer to the whalers, the battery on his camera died.

The crew plugged on, and in a moment of exasperation Easton pointed his camera and flicked the record button. The camera's battery somehow came back to life, just long enough to capture the harpoon flying through the air, and landing in a whale's back. The elated crew headed back to shore and, that night, the harpoon shot was shown on television screens around the world and Greenpeace never looked back.

Aikenhead said the story carries a timely message for the modern world.

"Basically, if you want to change things, you have to get involved," he said. "As Rex Weyler said, 'The most powerful thing that Greenpeace had was the power of an individual to stand up and be heard.' It's the same power that Gandhi had."

Aikenhead noted that many of Greenpeace's founders became disheartened over the years, but are beginning to see new successes in the most unlikely places.

When the Greenpeace documentary is completed in the next few months, Aikenhead will forward the final version to Global Television, where national news anchor Kevin Newman will add a one- minute introduction to the film.

The show will air in conjunction with Greenpeace's 35th anniversary next September, and then be rebroadcast on both the Knowledge Network, which is also based in Burnaby, and be translated into French for Radio-Canada.