The International Wednesdays documentary series presents The Refugees of the Blue Planet, March 28 at noon in the International Student Centre, on the second floor of Laurier Hall.

Each year, millions of people the world over are driven to forced displacement. From the Maldives to Brazil, and even closer to home, here in Canada, the disturbing accounts of people who have been uprooted are amazingly similar. The enormous pressure placed on rural populations as a result of the degradation of their life-supporting environment is driving them increasingly further from their way of life.

In The Refugees of the Blue Planet, Quebecois directors Hélène Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval shed light on the little-known plight of a category of individuals who are suffering the repercussions of this reality—environmental refugees. They are constantly growing in number and often have no legal status, even though their right to a clean and sustainable environment has been violated.

This 2006 documentary is presented in French with English subtitles. Read more on the National Film Board Web site.

International Wednesdays screenings are free and open to the public.