'New Climate' films address environment
- casfreelancer
- Jan 16, 2017
- 4 min read
Global warming is a hot topic both in politics and film. Just months after the U.S. elected a presidential candidate who denies the world’s temperature is rising, Sundance will launch an annual special program addressing environmental change and conservation. The New Climate consists of 14 documentaries, short films and virtual reality experiences spread out among the fest’s various categories–including a short from Mexico.
MORE 'INCONVENIENCE' Perhaps the most anticipated New Climate film is ‘An Inconvenient Sequel,” a follow-up to the Academy Award winner “An Inconvenient Truth,” the 2006 documentary that raised international awareness about global warming. Just like its predecessor, “An Inconvenient Truth” follows former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and delves into the complexities of an overwhelming, growing crisis but also offers the hope of potential solutions. The sequel is directed by two Sundance Film Festival alumni, Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk. 'ESCALATING THREATS' "I believe that storytelling is the greatest platform for getting people to care and take action on some of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Robert Redford, the founder of Sundance.
“Amid escalating threats to our environment, independent perspectives are adding the depth and dimension needed for us to find common ground and real solutions," Redford added. PANEL DISCUSSION Gore will be attending Sundance in support of the documentary. In addition to an expected appearance at the film’s world premiere in Park City, the ex-VP will join a panel on climate change entitled “Power of Story.”
LATINO SELECTION Among the 14 New Climate works stands Mexico’s “El Buzo” (The Diver). Features a leading diver who spends much time submerged in the sewer system of Mexico City, the short film is the only Latin American film in the fest’s environmental program. ENVIRONMENTAL WORKS The other New Climate projects are:
"Chasing Coral" / U.S.A. (Director: Jeff Orlowski) — Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world. World Premiere. (U.S. Documentary)
"Chasing Coral: The VR Experience" / U.S.A. (Lead Artist: Jeff Orlowski) — Zackary Rago, a passionate scuba diver and researcher, documented the unprecedented 2016 coral bleaching event at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef with this exclusive underwater VR experience. (Category: New Frontier: virtual reality).
"Hot Winter: A film by Dick Pierre" / U.S.A. (Director: Jack Henry Robbins, Screenwriters: Jack Henry Robbins, Nunzio Randazzo) — One of the first films in American cinema to address climate change, Hot Winter: A film by Dick Pierre, was also a hardcore porno. All sex scenes have been removed as to not distract from the conscious message. (Category: short films)
"Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry" / U.S.A. (Directors: Laura Dunn, Jef Sewell) — This cinematic portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America in the era of industrial agriculture is seen through the mind’s eye of farmer and writer Wendell Berry. (Category: Spotlight)
"Melting Ice / U.S.A." (Lead Artist: Danfung Dennis) — We take viewers on a transcendent exploration into the devastating consequences of climate change on Greenland's ice sheet. Stand under collapsing glaciers, next to raging rivers of ice melt and witness rising sea levels—all visceral warnings of our planet's future. (New Frontier: virtual reality)
"Plastic China" / China (Director: Jiu-liang Wang) — Yi-Jie, an 11-year-old girl, works alongside her parents in a recycling facility while dreaming of attending school. Kun, the facility’s ambitious foreman, dreams of a better life. Through the eyes and hands of those who handle its refuse, comes an examination of global consumption and culture. International Premiere. (Category: world documentary)
"Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman" / U.S.A. (Directors: Susan Froemke, John Hoffman, Beth Aala) — From the Montana Rockies to the wheat fields of Kansas and the Gulf of Mexico, families who work the land and sea are crossing political divides to find unexpected ways to protect the natural resources vital to their livelihoods. These are the new heroes of conservation, deep in America's heartland. World Premiere. (Category: documentary premieres)
"RISE" / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Michelle Latimer) — This vibrant and immersive documentary series explores the front lines of indigenous resistance. Episodes Apache Stronghold, Sacred Water and Red Power examine factors that threaten indigenous liberation in the 21st century. A series of contrasts, this series is both a condemnation of colonialism and a celebration of indigenous peoples. Continuing Sundance Institute’s ongoing commitment to presenting bold stories from within the Native American and Indigenous communities, we are proud to debut three episodes: Apache Stronghold, Sacred Water and Red Power, followed by an extended Q&A. World Premiere. (Category: special events)
"Tree" / U.S.A. (Lead Artists: Milica Zec, Winslow Porter, Key Collaborators: Aleksandar Protic, Jacob Kudsk Steensen) — This virtual experience transforms you into a rainforest tree. With your arms as the branches and body as the trunk, you experience the tree’s growth from a seedling to its fullest form and witness its fate firsthand. (New Frontier: virtual reality)
"Trophy" / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz, Co-Director: Christina Clusiau) — This in-depth look into the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation in the U.S. and Africa unravels the complex consequences of treating animals as commodities. World Premiere. (Category: U.S. documentary)
"Visions of an Island" / U.S.A. (Director: Sky Hopinka) — Indigenous and foreign presences coexist on an Alaskan island in the center of the Bering Sea. (Category: short films)
"Water & Power: A California Heist" / U.S.A. (Director: Marina Zenovich) — In California's convoluted water system, notorious water barons find ways to structure a state-engineered system to their own advantage. This examination into their centers of power shows small farmers and everyday citizens facing drought and a new, debilitating groundwater crisis. World Premiere. (Category: U.S. documentary)
The New Climate initiative is supported by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kendeda Fund, Discovery Channel, Vulcan Productions, Code Blue Foundation, FOND Group, EarthX Film, and the Joy Family Foundation. –CESAR ARREDONDO