If You Love This Planet is a 1982 Canadian documentary short film directed by Terre Nash, produced by Studio D, the women's unit of the National Film Board of Canada.
| If You Love This Planet | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Directed by | Terre Nash |
| Produced by | Edward Le Lorrain Kathleen Shannon (exec.) |
| Starring | Helen Caldicott |
| Cinematography | |
| Edited by | Terre Nash Jackie Newell (sound) |
| Music by | Karl du Plessis |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | National Film Board of Canada |
Release date |
|
Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,117 |
Plot
editThe film is a recording of a lecture given to SUNY Plattsburgh students by Australian physician and anti-nuclear activist Dr. Helen Caldicott about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. While Caldicott speaks about the dangers of nuclear war and what it could mean in terms of casualties, Nash cuts from the speech to black-and-white images of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[1]
Production
editTerre Nash was a student at McGill University when she heard a lecture by Helen Caldicott. Nash decided to create her first film based on the lecture.[2]
The film was created by Studio D with a budget of $70,117 (equivalent to $200,644 in 2023). The NFB's Board of Governors stated that the film was the "hottest film since Not a Love Story". The Ministry of External Affairs opposed including Ronald Reagan in the film.[3] Footage from Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter, a 1943 United States Department of War film, featuring Reagan was used in the film. The NFB opposed including the footage of Reagan, but allowed it to stay in the film after six months of debate.[4][2]
Release
editThe film was meant to be shown at the United Nations's Conference on Disarmament. It debuted in the United Kingdom when it was screened by the London Socialist Film Co-op.[5]
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation declined to broadcast the film, "because it takes a strong position on nuclear arms and does not give a balanced and objective view of the subject", and that they could not counter the film as it would be difficult to assemble a discussion panel including supporters of nuclear war.[6] The film was later shown on the CBC newsmagazine The Journal. [3]
Reception
editOn 13 January 1983,[7] the American distributors of If You Love This Planet, Acid Rain: Requiem or Recovery, and Acid from Heaven were ordered to register as foreign agents by the United States Department of Justice citing the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The films were also ordered to be labeled as political propaganda.[1] Barry Keene, a member of the California State Senate, filed a lawsuit against the order. In 1983, an injunction against the DOJ was issued by U.S. District Judge Raul Anthony Ramirez. In 1986, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case; on 28 April 1987, in Meese v. Keene, it ruled five to three in favor of the DOJ.[8][9][7][2]
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy hosted a screening of the film for members of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. John Roberts stated that he expected a film to be banned in the Soviet Union, but not the United States. The Canadian government requested for the order to be rescinded.[2]
Accolades
editIf You Love This Planet was the seventh film by the NFB to receive an Academy Award.[10] Nash thanked Reagan in her Oscar acceptance speech for the added publicity.[11]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | April 11, 1983 | Best Documentary Short | If You Love This Planet | Won | [12] |
Legacy
editIn 1992, Caldicott published the book, If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth and, from July 2008 to November 2012, hosted a weekly radio program called If You Love This Planet.[13][14]
The film is available for streaming through the National Film Board of Canada.
See also
edit- Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott, a 1981 feature-length documentary film.
- Nuclear Addiction: Dr. Rosalie Burtell on the Cost of Deterrance (Nash, 1986).
- A Writer in the Nuclear Age, featuring author Margaret Laurence (Nash, 1985).
References
edit- ^ a b Evans 1991, p. 283.
- ^ a b c d Hays, Matthew (12 March 2023). "The Reagan administration labeled a film 'propaganda.' It won an Oscar". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023.
- ^ a b Evans 1991, p. 283-284.
- ^ Beard & White 2002, p. 23.
- ^ Matthew Hays, "Montreal Oscar Stories: Two of the city's award-winners reminisce" Archived 2002-08-23 at the Wayback Machine Montreal Mirror, March 21, 1997. Accessed 2008.12.18.
- ^ Nelson, Joyce (1983). "Film Reviews/Terri Nash's "If You Love This Planet"". Cinema Canada. ISSN 1918-879X.
- ^ a b "Meese v. Keene". FindLaw. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022.
- ^ Evans 1991, p. 284-285.
- ^ "Justices Accept 'Propaganda' Case: Supreme Court To Hear 'Propaganda' Films Case". Los Angeles Times. 22 April 1986. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022.
- ^ "'The Mask' Publicist In N.Y." National Film Board. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023.
- ^ "If You Love This Planet". cfe.tiff.net. Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ Evans 1991, p. 284.
- ^ "If you love this planet: A plan to heal the earth". Choice Reviews Online. 30 (2): 30–0879. 1992. doi:10.5860/choice.30-0879. S2CID 128697913.
- ^ "Program Information - IF YOU LOVE THIS PLANET WITH DR. HELEN CALDICOTT IS NOW OFF THE AIR|A-Infos Radio Project".
Works cited
edit- Beard, William; White, Jerry, eds. (2002). North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980. The University of Alberta Press. ISBN 0-88864-398-5.
- Evans, Gary (1991). In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802027849.