Ithaca College

FLEFF is honored to host the upstate New York premiere of the feature-length documentary Unfractured (Chanda Chevannes, United States/Romania, 2017; 91 min.). Post-screening discussion features Chanda Chevannes and Sandra Steingraber, moderated by Dr. Carla Golden, Coordinator of Women's and Gender Studies,  Ithaca College

A hopeful documentary about fighting with your whole heart, Unfractured follows introspective biologist and mother Sandra Steingraber as she reinvents herself as an outspoken activist and throws herself into a an environmental war that many believe is unwinnable.

Branded a “toxic avenger” by Rolling Stone, Sandra quickly emerges as a leader of New York’s biggest grassroots movement in decades. Determined to win an uncompromising battle with the oil and gas industry, Sandra decides she must fight with her whole heart—devoting all her time, energy, and money to the cause.

But as the film opens, her personal life is thrown into crisis when her husband Jeff begins having one stroke after another. She knows her family needs her at home, but Sandra can’t stop—not until she and her allies win a state-wide ban on fracking.

Screening is Sunday April 15 at 3:30 p.m. at Cinemapolis. Sell out crowds expected as the film chronicles the central New York region so we suggest securing tickets in advance.

Bio

Chanda Chavannes is passionate about media for social change. Her first feature documentary, Living Downstream, won multiple awards and was broadcast on six continents. Her second feature, UNFRACTURED, is an uplifting documentary that will have its World Premiere as the opening night gala film at this year’s Planet in Focus.

While living in Uganda, Chanda created educational films on violence prevention, which are being used by thousands of organizations and have contributed to tangible change. Chanda has trained as an arts educator with the Royal Conservatory and was recently an Innovator in Communities with the Toronto Public Library. She is currently an instructor at Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre.

In 2015, Chanda received a prestigious Chalmers Arts Fellowship, which enables artists to take their work in new directions. In 2013, she received a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media and was named a Woman to Watch by Sydney’s Buzz on Indie Wire.

Chanda is a member of several professional associations, including the Documentary Organization of Canada, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and the Toronto Chapter of Film Fatales. She is a graduate of Sheridan College, lives in Toronto, and is the mother of two children.

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