“Mother: Caring for 7 Billion” film screening Oct. 29

An evening with co-producers Christophe Fauchere and Joyce Johnson

"Mother: Caring for 7 Billion" will be shown on Saturday, Oct. 29 at CU-Boulder in Humanities 1B50. The film addresses an issue that fuels our most pressing environmental, humanitarian and social crises—population growth. The population is predicted to reach 7 billion this weekend, a startling seven-fold increase since the first billion occurred 200 years ago. Director Christophe Fauchere (Director/Producer) and Joyce Johnson (Producer) will hold a discussion  afterward. The event is free and open to the public in conjunction with Colorado Bioneers.


“Mother” features world-renown experts and scientists including biologist Paul Ehrlich, author of “The Population Bomb;" economist Mathis Wackernagel, the creator of the ground-breaking Footprint Network; Malcolm Potts, a pioneer in human reproductive health; and Riane Eisler, whose book “The Chalice and the Blade” has been published in 23 countries.


Since the 1960s the world population has nearly doubled., but population has become a difficult discussion because of the sensitive issues surrounding it–religion, economics, family planning and gender inequality. Yet the issue persists. Today, nearly 1 billion people still suffer from chronic hunger despite agricultural advancements, and the diminishing availability of oil and water will only worsen the situation. 


The film illustrates both the overconsumption and the inequity side of the population issue by following a mother and child-rights activist as she discovers the thorny complexities of the population issue. The mother, who comes from a large American family, adopts an African-born daughter, and travels to Ethiopia to meet her. Zinet, the oldest daughter of a desperately poor family of 12, has found the courage to break free of thousand-year-old cultural barriers, and their encounter change both forever.


Grounded in the theories of social scientist Riane Eisler, the film strives not to blame but to educate, to highlight a different path for humanity.  It addresses the larger problem  of a "domination system" that has existed for most of human history  and demonstrates that the first step is to raise the status of women worldwide.