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#Sundance, Sundance Film Festival

Followup to An Inconvenient Truth to World Premiere at 2017 Sundance Film Festival as Day One Screening

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Documentary Caps Festival’s First Slate of ‘The New Climate’ Films and Work About Environment and Conservation

The Honorable Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, Social Entrepreneur Jeff Skoll & Others Join ‘Power of Story’ Panel on January 22; Live Streamed at sundance.org

Park City, UT — The followup to watershed environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth will make its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival as a Day One screening, part of The New Climate, a program dedicated to conversations and films about environmental change and conservation.

A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting follow up that shows both the escalation of the crisis and how close we are to a real solution. Directed by Sundance Film Festival alumni Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk.

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he Honorable Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States, will also join the Festival’s Power of Story panel, a collaboration between Sundance Institute and The Redford Center, with former President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, producer Heather Rae (Frozen River, RISE), social entrepreneur and philanthropist Jeff Skoll and environmentalist and scientist Dr. David Suzuki. A conversation between these prominent figures, who bring decades of direct experience with climate change and its effects, will be moderated by Democracy Now! journalist and broadcaster Amy Goodman on January 22, 2017, and livestreamed from Park City’s Egyptian Theatre at sundance.org.

The New Climate includes 14 documentaries, short films and virtual reality experiences across the Festival’s categories, and marks the first time that Festival programmers have focused efforts to highlight a specific cause.

Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “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. Amid escalating threats to our environment, independent perspectives are adding the depth and dimension needed for us to find common ground and real solutions.”

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “This film and the 13 other films and projects that are part of The New Climate slate this year add a new chapter to our legacy of showcasing stories on the environment and climate change. When my team and I first watched this film, we were taken by its complete, sensitive and cinematic presentation of the issues. It was emotional to see the scope of our world’s problems — and heartening to see the potential for progress.”

2017’s other projects for The New Climate appear below. Environmental films and projects showcased at the Festival in recent years include The Cove, Gasland, Chasing Ice, Racing Extinction and Collisions. The New Climate is a partnership of Sundance Institute and The Redford Center.

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. (New Frontier: Virtual Reality)

The Diver / Mexico (Director: Esteban Arrangoiz) — Julio César Cu Cámara is the chief diver in the Mexico City sewer system. His job is to repair pumps and dislodge garbage that flows into the gutters to maintain the circulation of sewage waters. (Short Films)

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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (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. (U.S. Documentary)

The New Climate is Sundance Institute’s year-round environmental initiative, 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.

The Sundance Film Festival®
The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Boyhood, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Twenty Feet from Stardom, Life Itself, The Cove, The End of the Tour, Blackfish, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Super Size Me, Dope, Little Miss Sunshine, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious and Napoleon Dynamite. The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®. 2017 Festival sponsors to date include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, SundanceTV, Chase Sapphire®, and Canada Goose; Leadership Sponsors – Adobe, AT&T, DIRECTV, and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – American Airlines, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Francis Ford Coppola Winery, GEICO, Google VR,The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb, Jaunt, Kickstarter, Omnicom, Stella Artois® and the University of Utah Health. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Look for the Official Sponsor seal at their venues at the Festival. sundance.org/festival

 

 

Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, The Invisible War, The Square, Dirty Wars, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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Media Contact:
Spencer Alcorn
310.360.1981
spencer_alcorn@sundance.org

(Source: http://www.sundance.org)

Documentary, Feature Film, Toronto International Film Festival

National Geographic’s ‘Before The Flood’s Numbers Are Rising

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National Geographic’s Before The Flood has reached over 30 million unique viewers world wide in its streaming, digital. linear and social platforms making it the most watched documentary since An Inconvenient Truth.

With an unprecedented distribution rollout, the film premiered in Los Angeles, New York and London before hitting the National Geographic channel airways in over 170 countries, and in 45 languages on October 30th. In keeping with its commitment to cover climate change, National Geographic has made the film available for free until November 6th on various streaming and digital platforms including NatGeoTv.com, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon and Vudu as well as NatGeo Tv apps for iPhones, Androids, XBox One and 360 .

Courteney Monroe, CEO, National Geographic Global Networks proudly asserts,

women2013courteneymonroe“At National Geographic, we believe in the power of storytelling to change the world, and with our unparalleled reach and history-making distribution of BEFORE THE FLOOD, we have already accomplished 100 percent of what we set out to do — to get this important and exceptional film in front of the widest audience possible, delivering it to viewers in every way they consume media. I am beyond proud that we have been able to bring the issue of climate change to the forefront of the global conversation — especially in the U.S. ahead of the elections — and hopefully inspire viewers to take action in their own way.”

 

Before the Flood, presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes occurring now around the world due to climate change as well as the actions we as individuals and as a society need to take to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet. Serving as a warning ahead of the U.S. elections this fall to vote for leaders who prioritize climate change policies, the film also explains real, practical solutions to help save the planet. As a United Nations Messenger of Peace, actor Leonardo DiCaprio interviews individuals from every facet of society in both developing and developed nations who provide unique, impassioned and pragmatic views on what must be done today and in the future to transition our economic and political systems into environmentally friendly institutions.

Interviews in the film include President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Kerry, U.N. Secretary-General Ki-Moon and Pope Francis as well as top NASA researchers, forest conservationists, revered scientists, community leaders and fervent activists working to save the world.

(Excerpt from BusinessWire.com)

 

Hollywood, Hollywood Film Awards

Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher Stevens to Be Honored With the Hollywood Documentary Award

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James Corden Will Host Special Anniversary Ceremony on Sunday, November 6, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel

HOLLYWOOD, CA–(Marketwired – November 02, 2016) – dick clark productions announced today that Academy Award-winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher Stevens will be honored with the “Hollywood Documentary Award” for National Geographic’s “Before the Flood” at the 20th Annual “Hollywood Film Awards® Presented by Virginia Black.” In the film, director and producer Stevens follows DiCaprio, who also executive produces, as he travels to five continents and the Arctic to gain a deeper understanding of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change.

The awards ceremony, celebrating its 20th anniversary as the official launch of the awards season®, will be hosted by actor and comedian James Corden, and will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, on November 6, 2016. The Hollywood Film Awards honors some of the most acclaimed films and actors, as well as previews highly anticipated films and talent for the upcoming year. Additional artists are also honored in the categories of Cinematography, Visual Effects, Film Composing, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Makeup & Hairstyling. Its honorees over the past 20 years have included the world’s biggest stars and more than 110 have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.

Past honorees of the “Hollywood Documentary Award” include Asif Kapadia for “Amy” in 2015 and Mike Myers for “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon” in 2014.

“Before The Flood” hit theatres October 21st (NY & LA) and aired globally (in 171 countries and 45 languages) on National Geographic on October 30th. From October 30 through November 6th “Before The Flood” will be available for free (commercial free) via a record number of digital and streaming platforms around the world. Visit www.beforetheflood.com/ for more information.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens and Academy Award-winning actor, environmental activist and U.N. Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio, “Before the Flood” presents a riveting account of the dramatic changes now occurring around the world due to climate change, as well as the actions we as individuals and as a society can take to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet. The film follows DiCaprio as he travels to five continents and the Arctic speaking to scientists, world leaders, activists and local residents to gain a deeper understanding of this complex issue and investigate concrete solutions to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. It premieres on National Geographic on October 30th.

LEONARD DiCAPRIO (Producer) is an Academy Award® award-winning actor (and five-time nominee), who has been recognized for his work as an actor, producer and activist. DiCaprio most recently starred in The Revenant, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, for which he received the Academy Award® (2016) for Best Actor in a Leading Role, as well as the Golden Globe® for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama; Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role; and Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Actor.

Previously, he worked with Netflix to release Virunga, an Oscar-nominated documentary that examines gorilla preservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park. He produced and starred in The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, for which he received the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, as well as Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Picture from his role as a producer. Prior to The Wolf of Wall Street, he starred in blockbuster hit The Great Gatsby as well as Django Unchained, and received a Golden Globe nomination for his work. As the title role in J. Edgar, under the direction of Clint Eastwood, he received Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations for his work in the film. Additionally, he starred in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Inception, and the dramatic thriller Shutter Island, which marked his fourth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

Before earning two Academy Award nominations for The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio earned an Oscar nod in 2007 for his performance in Edward Zwick’s drama Blood Diamond. He also received Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations for his work in the film. That same year, he garnered Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, Critics’ Choice Award and SAG Award nominations for his role in the Oscar-winning Best Picture The Departed, directed by Scorsese. He also shared in a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast Performance as a member of the ensemble cast of The Departed.

He previously earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Scorsese’s acclaimed 2004 biopic The Aviator. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Howard Hughes in that film also brought him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama, as well as Critics’ Choice and BAFTA Award nominations. He was also honored with two SAG Award nominations, one for Best Actor and another for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast Performance as part of the Aviator cast. In addition to his acting work, DiCaprio launched his own production company, Appian Way. Under the Appian Way banner, he wrote, produced and narrated the acclaimed environmentally themed documentary The 11th Hour. Among Appian Way’s other productions are the aforementioned Shutter Island and The Aviator, as well as The Ides of March, Red Riding Hood, Orphan, Public Enemies, Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson, and Runner, Runner, starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck. Their upcoming production slates includes Otto Bathurst’s Robin Hood: Origins, a feature adaptation of the Japanese manga “Akira” and three projects written by Billy Ray: The Twilight Zone, an Untitled Richard Jewell. Dennis Lehane’s critically acclaimed novel Live By Night, written, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck will bow December 2016.

Born in Hollywood, California, DiCaprio started acting at the age of 14. His breakthrough feature film role came in Michael Caton-Jones’ 1993 screen adaptation of Tobias Wolff’s autobiographical drama This Boy’s Life. That same year, he co-starred in Lasse Hallström’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, earning his first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his performance as a mentally handicapped young man. In addition, he won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s New Generation Award for his work in the film.

In 1995 DiCaprio had starring roles in three very different films, beginning with Sam Raimi’s Western, The Quick and the Dead. He also garnered praise for his performance as drug addict Jim Carroll in the harrowing drama The Basketball Diaries, and for his portrayal of disturbed pansexual poet Arthur Rimbaud in Agnieszka Holland’s Total Eclipse. The following year, DiCaprio starred in Baz Luhrmann’s contemporary screen adaptation of Romeo + Juliet, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. He also joined an all-star ensemble cast in Marvin’s Room, sharing in a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast Performance.

In 1997 DiCaprio starred opposite Kate Winslet in the blockbuster Titanic, for which he earned a Golden Globe Award nomination. The film shattered every box-office record on its way to winning 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. His subsequent film work includes dual roles in The Man in the Iron Mask; The Beach; Woody Allen’s Celebrity; Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (receiving a Golden Globe nomination); Gangs of New York (his first film for director Martin

Scorsese); Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies; and Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road, which reunited DiCaprio with Winslet and brought him his seventh Golden Globe nomination.

DiCaprio is well known for his dedication to the environment on a global scale, producing creative projects such as the documentary 11th Hour, spearheading numerous public awareness campaigns, and launching The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. He and Appian Way are currently in partnership with Netflix to produce two environmentally themed documentaries titled Catching the Sun and How to Change the World, both currently in post-production and slated for release in 2016. DiCaprio also serves on the boards of World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and International Fund for Animal Welfare.

In September 2014 DiCaprio was designated as a United Nations Messenger of Peace for his longstanding commitment to environmental activism. That same month, DiCaprio was honored with the Clinton Global Citizen Award, participated in history’s largest climate march in New York City and powerfully addressed the UN Summit. In January 2016 DiCaprio was awarded a Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for his work to bring global attention to the urgent need to address climate change.

Fisher Stevens has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. His versatility is evidenced by his credits, which range from acting to producing to directing and from film to television to theater, as well as working with the United Nations. Most recently he had recurring arcs on the HBO productions “The Night Of,” the acclaimed miniseries starring John Turturro, and “Vice Principals,” a comedy series with Danny McBride and Walton Goggins. His newest project, Before the Flood, is his third environmental film, following the Academy Award-winning The Cove and Racing Extinction. The documentary follows Academy Award-winning actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels to five continents to gain a deeper understanding of climate change and its impact on the world. Additionally, he directed the upcoming HBO documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, about the Hollywood family and produced the upcoming Netflix documentary Sky Ladder, about celebrated Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Previously announced honorees for this year’s show include: “Hollywood Career Achievement Award,” Eddie Murphy; “Hollywood Actor Award,” Tom Hanks; “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award,” Hugh Grant; “Hollywood Actress Award,” Natalie Portman; “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” Nicole Kidman; “Hollywood Comedy Awards,” Robert De Niro; “Hollywood Breakout Actress Award,” Naomie Harris; “New Hollywood Award,” Lily Collins; “Spotlight Award,” Janelle Monáe; “Hollywood Ensemble Award,” “Gold;” “Hollywood Song Award,” Justin Timberlake; “Hollywood Blockbuster Award,” “The Jungle Book”; “Hollywood Animation Award,” “Zootopia”; “Hollywood Director Award,” Mel Gibson; “Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award,” Tom Ford; “Hollywood Producer Award,” Marc Platt; “Hollywood Screenwriter Award,” Kenneth Lonergan; “Hollywood Cinematography Award,” Linus Sandgren; “Hollywood Film Composer Award,” Mychael Danna; “Hollywood Editor Award,” John Gilbert; “Hollywood Visual Effects Award,” Stephane Ceretti and Richard Bluff; “Hollywood Sound Award,” Christopher Boyes and Frank Eulner; “Hollywood Costume Design Award,” Albert Wolsky; “Hollywood Make Up & Hair Styling Award,” Shane Thomas, Angela Conte, Bec Taylor and Noriko Waztanabe; and “Hollywood Production Design Award,” Wynn Thomas.

The 20th Annual Hollywood Film Awards are presented by Virginia Black. Virginia Black. Rich. Decadent. Smooth. Whiskey redefined.

CHEAT TWEET: .@LeoDiCaprio and Fisher Stevens will be honored with the Hollywood Documentary Award at the @HollywoodAwards: hfas.news/holly9927 #HFAs

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About dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming, with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Country Countdown Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” “Hollywood Film Awards” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance,” from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries, with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS®
The Hollywood Film Awards®, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. For additional information, visit www.hollywoodawards.com.

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