“The flawless beauty of Novack's coverage of dynamited mountains, slurry pools and rapidly churned-out coal underscores the inexorability of the practice and the devastation in its wake.”
- VARIETY Ronnie Scheib “Such a rich sense of place that it rips you up in ways that other, less-rooted documentaries don’t…I cannot recommend it too highly.” - NEW YORK MAGAZINE David Edelstein |
BURNING THE FUTURE (2008)Awards
International Documentary Association (IDA) DocuFest: Pare Lorentz Award Winner, Best Social Documentary of 2008 Society of Environmental Journalists: Best In-depth Television Reporting on the Environment International Visual Communications Association, London: Clarion Award Winner for Communication of Diversity, Sustainable Development and Ethical Debate Montana Cine International Film Festival: Best of Festival, Golden Cine Award Best Theatrically Released Film Best Independent Production Best Human-Nature Interaction West Virginia Filmmakers' Festival: Best Film of 2008 Tallahassee Filmmakers' Festival Best Documentary Short Synopsis: In Burning the Future: Coal in America, writer/director David Novack examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging "clean coal" energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, courageous residents demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life. The film was originally produced in 2008. An updated, shorter version was created in 2012 for Public Television broadcast. Since the original film, one of the central figures in the film, Maria Gunnoe, won the Goldman Prize for her work to stop mountain-top removal mining |
