The film could have been called: An Operation Manual for Planet Earth, EcoRevolution, The Great Hope or Problem Planet: Earthbound Solutions. It’s called Earth Keepers. We meet the young Québécois activist Mikael Rioux who founded Échofête, Quebec’s first environmental festival; the iconic Christian de Laet, Ashok Khosla, the charismatic president of Development Alternatives, the largest alternative development NGO in the world; as well as Karl-Henrik Robèrt, the brilliant Swedish oncologist turned sustainable development guru.

We also get a chance to look at the innovative projects of John Todd, the ecological designer whom MIT hailed as one of the 35 most significant inventors of the 21st century. His companion, Nancy Jack Todd, talks about the origins of their avant-garde “New Alchemy” movement. We travel to Zurich, the heart of international finance, with the humanist economist Peter Koenig; we meet Marilyn Melhmann, the driving force behind the Global Action Plan; and we listen to a heart-to-heart conversation with Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement.

Sylvie Van Brabant, director

Born in Saint-Paul, Alberta, for a quarter century filmmaker Sylvie Van Brabant has been directing and producing thought-provoking films about tolerance, women's health, young people's need for creative expression, the importance of preserving one's culture, and respect for human rights and the environment. Since 1981 she has directed a dozen films, a number of which have won prizes. A co-founder with Serge Giguère of Les Productions du Rapide-Blanc, she brings real passion to this company, which since 1984 has produced some 20 documentaries that have garnered many awards at home and abroad. These films are recognized and honoured for their unusual style and their undeniable social and political impact. Van Brabant also actively supports auteur documentaries as a member of the boards of Doc Québec and l'Observatoire du Documentaire. She has also been a board member of Hot Docs and of the ARRQ. Her latest film is in a way the culmination of her wholehearted concern for the health of the individual and the environment.