TRUE SURVIVORS
Climate change, ecological breakdown, the end of the world- these were all just normal conversations around the Cullis-Suzuki dinner table. Survival isn’t a game anymore - climate change has made it real. How have humans survived in the past - and do we have what it takes to survive what’s next? A documentary about the science and culture of human survival, at its core ‘True Survivors’ is a succession story from renowned scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki to his daughter, Sarika. Through a journey of scientific and personal discovery, with the pacing and style of an adventure film, Sarika Cullis-Suzuki grapples with her fathers doubts for humanity to address the urgent challenges of climate change, and forges her own unshakable hope for the future. It’s a tale of intergenerational legacy and the enduring hope for humanity- the power to survive literally runs in our blood.
Credits and Cast
Producer(s): Carolyn Whittaker
Director: Rio Mitchell
Writer: Sarika Cullis-Suzuki
Cast: Sarika Cullis-Suzuki
Director: Rio Mitchell
A bright light in a new generation of filmmaking, director Rio Mitchell is growing spectacular industry and award recognition, working agnostically between linear documentaries, interactive museum installations, and large-scale immersive media experiences. Their work engages themes of culture and the environment through character-driven documentaries: exploring the Land through the stories of the People who depend on it. Across the innovative range, Rio produced several immersive and short films installed in the Human History wing of the ambitious new Royal Alberta Museum. She became the Creative Producer for Edmonton’s Indigenous People’s Experience: a permanent 8000ft’ immersive-media Indigenous cultural center, winning the 2021 THEA Outstanding Achievement Award which recognized it as the year’s most outstanding heritage centre worldwide. In the linear documentary, Rio’s directorial debut Fox Chaser (CBC) was nominated for Best Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards and swept the 2019 Alberta Motion Picture Awards. True Survivors is Rio's first film for The Nature of Things - her second is in production this summer elder wisdom. Quincy envisions continuing to collaborate with artists worldwide and especially visiting Mongolia to reconnect with his indigenous blood ancestry.