Congratulations to filmmaker and artist Marie LeBlanc — her short film (8 minutes) Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & Environmental Illness-Awareness & Acknowledgement has been selected by Bistrita Romania International Film Festival (BRIFF) and will be shown August 18-20 2023 via FilmFreeway.com!

Members of the MCS community featured in the film include Doreen Dougherty, Paul Smith, Scott Killingworth, Susie Molloy and her dog Gracie Lou (in alphabetical order of first name). Paul Turgeon provided editing.

This will be the 4th film festival that Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & Environmental Illness-Awareness & Acknowledgement has been a part of.

The film was displayed at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, during the fall of 2022 and at Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA), also in Winnipeg. The short film features stories from people living with Environmental Sensitivities/Environmental Illness including Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity  (EHS) and Mold Illness. 

See BRIFF on Instagram for more information.

To view the film while it is playing at BRIFF on Friday Aug 18 (#2 on the list) click here.

Read more about the film on the filmmaker Marie LeBlanc’s Facebook post.

If you miss the festival you can always view the short film on YouTube here. Please subscribe to Marie LeBlanc’s channel while you’re there and share widely. Marie is hoping to reach 500 subscribers. Let’s help her reach her goal!

About Marie LeBlanc

Marie LeBlanc is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist. Through photography, multimedia projection, short film, performance and wordsmithing she explores themes related to landscape, isolation, beauty, health (mostly Environmental Sensitivities) and nature. Capturing faces, shapes, shadows and reflections with digital and on-camera effects, often superimposing her own reflection, she seeks to embrace the present moment and the ethereal world around her. In the winter months, she travels to the U.S. desert in a cargo van adapted for safe housing to ease the symptoms of Environmental Sensitivities (ES). She advocates for those (including herself) living with Environmental Sensitivities

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography and Sociology from the University of Manitoba. She has participated in the Making Our Mark II Printmaking Mentorship Program at Martha Street Studio, the Artist In Residency Program at Artbeat Studio and the Art Salon Program at Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba (AANM). Her story and artwork have been featured in interviews, articles and newsletters throughout Western Canada, the US, and MCS Aware (UK). She was recently awarded Microgrants from Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art and AANM for the completion of Overdressed.

Marie often participates in meetings and coalitions to have the needs met for those living with Environmental Sensitivities. In 2022 and 2023 Marie participated in the Parks Accessibility Conference (Canada).

Her 3 most important projects to date include:

• The 3-time award winning short film Multiple Chemical Sensitivity & Environmental Illness-Awareness & Acknowledgement was selected to be featured in the Bistrita Romania International Film Festival, in Transylvania, Romania from August 18 to 20, 2023. Click here for the announcement. The film was displayed at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights fall of 2022 and MAWA featuring stories from people living with Environmental Sensitivities/Environmental Illness including multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and mold illness she met along her journey. Click here for the film. (8 mins)
• WHO says we need fresh air?! – has traveled throughout Manitoba, to Edmonton, Jasper and Arizona. Quotes from individuals across the globe afflicted by Environmental Sensitivities/Environmental Illness are projected onto buildings, structures, billboards, screens and monitors. The full video series for your information: click here
• Overdressed was Marie’s most impactful photography project. In the series she wore a blue evening gown (mostly) in the desert where she performed every task on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the blue evening gown and hiking boots. The dress represents how everything is like a special event and how tired she is after that event. Overdressed project: https://aanm.ca/overdressed – You can scroll to the images after the artist statement.

Environmental Sensitivities includes Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, and Mold Hypersensitivity. People experience adverse reactions to various things in the environment such as perfumes, cleaning chemicals, smoke, electrical devices, electronics, cell towers, mold, 5G, foods, paint and so much more. The effects can be irritating to completely debilitating often affecting many organs.

Marie’s website: www.marieleblanc.net – her blog has the most up-to-date information.