Imagine getting burned when you take a shower. That’s what happened to the Lauridsen family.
The question was – what caused the burns? And why could they light their water on fire?
This became the subject of a fascinating documentary by Cameron Esler who co-wrote and co-directed (with Tadzio Richards) a documentary called Burning Water.
In the documentary, everyone seemed to agree that there was gas in the water but did not agree on how it got there.
The documentary was broadcast on CBC and won the Golden Sheaf Global Issues Award.
Esler, who is now pursuing his Master of Arts in Political Economy at Carleton, has continued to shoot and/or edit many other shows and documentaries, including Buzkashi,The Bather, Super Amigos, Small Wonders and Between Midnight and the Rooster’s Crow, many of which have won awards. He has made films for NGO’s and last fall did a research placement with the Pembina Institute.
Esler describes himself as a social issues filmmaker, an activist and former union steward.
“Returning to school to do a Master of Arts in Political Economy was a very natural transition for me,” says Esler. “When telling stories, a storyteller deals most with the emotional, social and environmental impacts of the issue that they are addressing. Stories are windows to issues, but rarely do stories offer concrete solutions to problems. A social science master’s degree gives me the skillset to critically analyze problems and propose solutions to them.”
Esler says that he sees many similarities between writing a thesis and making a documentary. “You focus on an issue through a lens, address the sub-textual issues, actors and concepts that underlie your case study and most importantly produce a critical, true, well researched, coherent and engaging text or film.”
As the political economy program is research-based, Esler is constantly reading, writing and learning about economic and social processes and developing his arguments. Says Esler: “These skills will be integral to the job I hope to get. Additionally, I think such skills are an asset to telling a good, relevant story, should I choose to make another documentary.”
His research rolled out of his documentary filmmaking. “In looking at hydrocarbon extraction issues in Between Midnight and the Rooster’s Crow and Burning Water, I became interested in the role governments have in hydrocarbon extraction – regulation, environmental enforcement and so forth. So, now I am looking at the federal government’s role in the Northern Gateway Pipeline.”
Esler says he loves the political economy program and named several professors he feels have been extremely helpful to him, including his advisors Drs. Patricia Ballamingie and Graham Smart, as well as Prof. Justin Paulson and Instructor Julie Ann Tomiak “who were excellent and opened my eyes to many theoretical issues.” He also noted that Prof. Janet Siltanen and Donna Coghill, administrator for the Institute of Political Economy “have been very supportive in helping me adjust from the working culture of film and television to academia.”
Esler, who is the 2012 recipient of the Kalmen Kaplansky Scholarship in Economic and Social Rights, hopes to graduate this Spring.
Monday, January 28, 2013 in News, Research
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