As heat domes, atmospheric rivers and wildfires reshape our world, how do we protect what matters most?
About the film
A feature documentary from award-winning directors NOVA AMI and VELCROW RIPPER.
Climate change is here. As heat domes, atmospheric rivers and wildfires reshape our world, how do we protect what matters most? EMERGENCE: Women in the Storm goes beyond the headlines to explore how women are navigating climate emergencies.
Recent disasters, including the wildfire that burned the town of Lytton to the ground and the devastating floods in the Fraser Valley, are seen through the eyes of survivors, while emergency responders and community organizers provide perspectives on preparing for – and moving beyond – the worst. Meghan Fandrich’s reflective readings from Burning Sage: Poems from the Lytton Fire, written after losing her town to the blaze, are woven together with stories of healing, resilience and hope in the face of an uncertain future.
Intimate and beautifully crafted, the film offers insights on how to live in this new reality, finding ways to carry on without giving up
Screenings
Now screening in Canada.
Wisdom from the storm
Learn and share how to be ready when disaster strikes.
Prepare
"Emergency preparedness can go from the smallest child to the oldest adult. Nobody is unvalued. Everybody has a role."
- Sheri Lysons
Respond
"From command and control, to connect and empower. Communities know the risks. They have the solutions."
- Dr. Lily Yumagulova
Transform
"When we think about climate change as a diagnosis, moving forward to treatment is important, but there is also a grieving element to it."
- Dr. Courtney Howard
The Filmmakers
Meet the award-winning team behind the camera.
Hidden Item
NOVA AMI, Writer, Director & Producer
Nova Ami is a Canadian documentary filmmaker of mixed Filipino heritage. Her current work explores themes of climate emergency and environment, focusing on the perspectives of women and diverse communities.
Recent projects include creative collaborations with filmmaker Velcrow Ripper: EMERGENCE: Women in the Storm explores how communities are navigating the reality of climate emergency as atmospheric rivers, heat domes, and mega fires reshape our world. INCANDESCENCE is an immersive, experiential feature documentary about wildfire (produced by the NFB). The award-winning METAMORPHOSIS, a theatrical feature documentary which explores the theme of change in this time of climate crisis, described as “breathtaking” by the Toronto Star. SAY I DO, following the journeys of Filipino women who came to Canada as mail-order brides; and SECRETS: A Parent’s Guide to Teen Sexuality which aired on CBC’s The Passionate Eye. She was host, director, and writer on The Leading Edge, a television series about innovation that aired on Knowledge, and was host and segment producer of GVTV, a series about urban issues in metro Vancouver. She has a master’s degree in Media Studies from the New School, NYC.
Learn more at: TransparentFilm.media
VELCROW RIPPER, Writer & Director
Velcrow Ripper creates powerful, cinematic feature documentaries that deal with the
central issues of our times. His films are released widely in movie theatres, streaming, broadcast and community screenings around the world. They have featured luminaries such as bell hooks, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hahn, and Alice Walker. He began co-directing with Nova Ami with the award winning feature doc Metamorphosis, the web series Living With Dying, and their latest feature docs, Incandescence (NFB) and Emergence: Women in the Storm (a Knowledge Original). His epic Fierce Light Trilogy began with Scared Sacred, a journey to the Ground Zeroes of the world, winner of the 2005 Genie (Canadian Academy) Award for best feature documentary, continued with Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action, and concluded with Occupy Love. His film about elders and the struggle to save the ancient forests, Bones of the Forest (co-directed with Heather Frise) won nine awards. He is well known for his award-winning sound design of such films as The Corporation (Best Sound, Leo Awards) and A Place Called Chiapas (Best Sound, Hot Docs, Leo Awards).
Learn more at: TransparentFilm.media