[van-announce] Friday, March 14 - Film: Giants Leap

[Gordon Flett]

Giants Leap / À pas de géants

A Documentary Film about Contemporary Real Estate Development in Vancouver

Written, directed and produced by Florence Debeugny & Lynsey Hamilton

Canada, 2007, 57 minutes

Showing on Friday March 14, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Grandview Calvary Baptist Church

1803 East First Avenue (one block east of Commercial Drive)

Followed by a Discussion about Present Development in Vancouver

Synopsis of Giants Leap / À pas de géants

Fast development overlooks the social and economic long-term and destroys 
heritage and culture. In Vancouver, city planners did not expect Yaletown's 
development to attract families; what other consequences have they not 
anticipated?

The development pressures in Vancouver on old structures and heritage are 
erasing the physical evidence of the past, replacing it with questionable 
construction choices. The city is becoming one accessible only for the rich 
and the quality of architecture has been identified as second or third rate.

Giants Leap / À pas de géants documents the physical and architectural 
changes of Vancouver's Downtown South neighbourhood from early 2005 until 
mid 2007.

The residents of Vancouver's Downtown South are being driven from their 
homes by developers pursuing profit. Linda has lived in the same house in 
Downtown South for 45 years. In 2005, real estate agents started to pressure 
her to sell her home, but she preferred to keep her home. Sam, another 
neighbourhood character, is a retired forestry worker who bicycles every day 
through the neighbourhood that he knows so well. He believes that residents 
and developers should together find a balance to live respectfully of each 
other. Michelle, Linda's neighbour, has been leasing her 100 year old house 
for four years. Her home has been sold to a developer and is now charted for 
demolition.

Giants Leap / À pas de géants is a diverse portrait of a changing 
neighbourhood and the changing values of a society, raising questions of 
progress, heritage preservation, housing and culture.

Film Will Be Shown in English

Filmmakers Will Attend

A Voluntary Donation Goes to Costs and Filmmakers

Event Produced by Joseph Jones

jjones2340 at gmail.com  604-433-2764

Norquay Neighbours - http://www.vcn.bc.ca/norquay