A critically acclaimed documentary about the impact of human activity upon the Earth will provide talking points for how to address local problems about waste.

Reel Causes, which holds film screenings with panel discussions to address social issues, will be holding a screening of the Canadian documentary Anthropocene: The Human Epoch at 7 p.m. on April 17 at SFU Woodward’s (149 West Hastings Street).

The title refers to the proposed current geological epoch in which human activity is the dominant influence upon climate and the environment and the cause of permanent planetary change.

The film, by Jennifer Baichwal, Ed Burtynsky, and Nicholas de Pencier, won the Ted Rogers Best Feature Length Documentary award last night at the Canadian Screen Awards.

It was also named best Canadian documentary by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in January.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the non-profit Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC), which was founded in 1969, about waste reduction in Vancouver. 

In a news release, SPEC executive director Oliver Lane described the scope of the film as well as what the discussion will address.

"The fantastic footage showing how humans are dramatically altering and scarring the face of the earth, changing it not only for us, but generations to come, will be a powerful preamble to the panel discussion on waste reduction,” he said. “Waste is a huge component of how we are impacting the planet, and a topic we at SPEC work tirelessly on. The event will be an opportunity to reflect and discuss improvements that have been made, but more importantly, what it is that still needs to get done, and how we can do it." 

For more information about the event, visit the Reel Causes website.