''Wiebo's War'' is a 2011 Canadian documentary about eco-warrior

Wiebo Ludwig Wiebo Arienes Ludwig (19 December 1941 – 9 April 2012) was the leader of a Christian community named Trickle Creek, just outside Hythe, Alberta, Canada. He was best known for his legal problems arising from his conflict with the oil and gas i ...

, directed by

David York David Leslie York (born 13 April 1941) is a former English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Shropshire. He was born in Quatt, Shropshire.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians ...

. Ludwig was first approached by York in 2008. Filming began in late 2008 and continued into 2010, with York living as a guest in the isolated Ludwig family compound in the community of Trickle Creek, approximately 450 kilometres northwest of

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

. The film documents a

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

and a string of

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

s among Ludwig family members, as well as

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

deaths, which Ludwigs attribute to

sour gas Sour gas is natural gas or any other gas containing significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Natural gas is usually considered sour if there are more than 5.7 milligrams of H2S per cubic meter of natural gas, which is equivalent to approxim ...

from nearby gas wells. In one scene, Ludwig

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

shows Wiebo holding the stillborn infant, while in another, a family member ignites water from the kitchen tap. During filming in early 2010, Ludwig was arrested as a suspect in bombings of sour-gas installations in nearby

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The film also explores Ludwig's religious views, with excerpts from a four-hour conversation between the atheist film director and Wiebo and his sons, who tell York that he is living in a "terrible darkness."

Release

''Wiebo's War'' had its world premiere at the

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (TDF) is an international documentary festival held every March in Thessaloniki, Greece. TDF, founded in 1999, features competition sections and ranks among the world's leading documentary festivals. Since 20 ...

and its North American premiere at the 2011

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

. The film opened theatrically in Canada on October 14, 2011 in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Credits

''Wiebo's War'' is produced by David York, Bryn Hughes and

Nick Hector Nick Hector is a British Canadian film producer and editor, and professor of film production at the University of Windsor. Career Hector collaborated with Canadian filmmaker Allan King and exclusively cut his films during the last decade of K ...

for 52 Media and Bonnie Thompson for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB). The executive producers are David Christensen (NFB) and David York (52 Media).

References

External links

Film website
52 Media
Film website
National Film Board of Canada 2011 films 2011 documentary films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Films shot in Alberta Documentary films about fossil fuels Documentary films about terrorism Documentary films about Christianity Eco-terrorism Documentary films about families 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films {{bio-documentary-film-stub