But beyond the buzz phrase, what's fact and what's fiction about the potential for environmentally responsible coal-power generation? That's the question addressed in “Burning the Future: Coal in America,” a documentary that won Best of Festival in this year's Cine International Film Festival, which begins Monday in Missoula.
According to festival director Janet Rose, the topicality of that film, combined with its deep, yet human, approach to the issue, made it a perfect fit for the festival's raison d'etre.
Not only that, but this Friday's 7 p.m. screening of the film at the Roxy Theater will be enhanced with a panel discussion that includes the filmmaker as well as speakers from the office of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the Montana Wildlife Federation, and other organizations focused on the issue.
“This is a great example of how we can work around an important film to have an important discussion with all the stakeholders to talk about what this means for Montana and our world,” said Rose.
Now in its fifth year, the Cine International Film Festival began as an outgrowth of the International Wildlife Film Festival, one of Missoula's most celebrated annual events. Organizers of that festival recognized several years ago that the film entries they were receiving to their flagship festival increasingly crossed the line into focusing on the interplay between humans and the environment.
So they created Cine, which takes as its focus films that explore “the human experience and people's relationships with nature and their environment,” according to the festival's mission statement.
That focus is brought through in myriad ways in this year's festival, with films addressing the relationship between environmental chemicals and breast cancer (“Toxic Bust”), the environmental costs of electricity consumption (“Kilowatt Ours”), the impact of livestock production on global climate (“Meat the Truth”), and other issues.
“I've not seen a film festival duplicate what we do. Most just focus on the films as films,” said Rose. “We see these films as catalysts for discussions about major issues we're concerned about, locally and globally. We want it to be relevant to everyone, and we have this opportunity to bring these big issues to the fore through these films.”
The festival begins on Monday, with screenings that start at 9:30 a.m. and go through the evening. That schedule continues through the weekend. All told, more than 30 films will be shown, all at the Roxy Theater, located at 718 S. Higgins Ave. Visit www.wildlifefilms.org for complete schedule and ticket information.
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