''Forest Alert'' (french: L'Erreur boréale) is a Canadian documentary film directed by
Richard Desjardins
Richard Desjardins (born March 16, 1948) is a Québécois folk singer and film director.
Career
Desjardins and his friends formed the country rock ensemble Abbitibbi in the 1970s; Desjardins played piano, guitar, and sang. When the group disban ...
and Robert Monderie, released in 1999. The film is a portrait of the
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
industry in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, centred on its reliance on the environmentally unfriendly practice of
clearcutting
Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...
.Don McPherson, "Voice of the poet: It took a singer and film-maker to put environment back on political agenda". ''
Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', April 10, 1999.
The film's original French title, which literally means "Northern Error" and refers to the
boreal forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
, is also a pun on ''l'aurore boréale'', the French name for the aurora borealis.
The film won the
Jutra Award
The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.Best Documentary Film at the
1st Jutra Awards The 1st Jutra Awards were held on March 7, 1999 to honour films made with the participation of the Quebec film industry in 1998."Red Violin makes sweet Jutra music: Wins nine awards, including best picture, best director". ''Montreal Gazette'', Mar ...
.John Griffin, "Red Violin makes sweet Jutra music: Wins nine awards, including best picture, best director". ''
Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...