At Sundance Film Festival, the Theme Is Climate Change – Gore’s Sequel to Debut
A new Sundance subsection, the New Climate, will include 14 documentaries, short films and special projects, including a virtual-reality experience that turns participants into a tree that is violently chopped down. (Not to be left out, the less prestigious Slamdance, a concurrent festival, will open with “What Lies Upstream,” an investigative look at drinking-water contamination in West Virginia and Michigan.)
‘An Inconvenient Sequel’
Directors: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk
Produced by the cause-oriented Participant Media and acquired for theatrical distribution by Paramount Pictures, “An Inconvenient Sequel” again looks at Mr. Gore’s efforts to educate citizens about global warming. But the story has less doom and gloom this time around, focusing on Mr. Gore’s optimism that a future powered by renewable energy is attainable — unless fossil-fuel interests become newly powerful.
“Because we are on the night before the inauguration, we expect a lot of very heated emotions,” Ms. Cohen said. “We’re hoping the film is a bit of a salve. There is great hope in what people can do individually about the climate. And certainly Al Gore’s relentless work has resonance. How you can come back from personal defeat.”
Mr. Shenk added: “‘An Inconvenient Truth’ really turned out to be the beginning of a journey for him. I think what he’s been doing will surprise people.”
