York, David. Wiebo’s War. Toronto: 52 Media Inc., 2011. HD, 93 min. http://www.wieboswar.com/trailer.html.
Wiebo’s War tells the story of a Christian community at war with the oil and gas industry. Wiebo Ludwig is the prime suspect in a series of pipeline bombings. The bombings echo a campaign of sabotage he waged against the gas industry 10 years ago … barricading roads, blowing up wells, and culminating in the unsolved death of a 16-year-old girl on his family’s farm. The Ludwig family live in northern Alberta, in the heart of Canada’s oil patch. They came 25 years ago, wanting to live more closely according to their Christian beliefs, according to scripture. They built their community in the wilderness with their own hands, not knowing that it lay on top of one of the largest undeveloped fields of natural gas on the continent. Other people take whatever buyout is on offer, and make an accommodation with the oil and gas industry. Wiebo and his family—after years of trying to deal with the industry, politicians and the media—went to war. The community is self-sufficient in food and energy, but isolated. Apart from Wiebo and his wife Mamie, there are 5 married couples, 7 unmarried adults, and 38 grandchildren, many entering their teenaged years. They are security conscious, aware that they are being watched, open to the outside world, but guarded. And they believe that those who don’t share their beliefs, like filmmaker David York, are living in terrible darkness. (Source: Official Film Website)
© 2011 National Film Board of Canada.Trailer used with permission.
This film is available at the Rachel Carson Center Library (RCC, 4th floor, Leopoldstrasse 11a, 80802 Munich) for on-site viewing only. For more information, please contact library@rcc.lmu.de.
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