A conversation: Al Gore, who initially was reluctant to do a sequel, was swayed by two factors — “the climate-related extreme weather events that have become more common and destructive” and “the solutions that are available now.”
SAN FRANCISCO » Well before “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” received its emotional world premiere on the eve of the presidential inauguration in January, former Vice President Al Gore and Bay Area filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk realized the evolving political climate would necessitate some updates of their sequel to the influential 2006 climate- change documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
When the new film screened that same month at the Sundance Film Festival, Gore, Cohen and Shenk understood that the key Cabinet appointments of President Donald Trump, a skeptic about global warming, would need to be taken into account in the film.
“We anticipated that there would have to be work done even after the Sundance screening,” recalls Gore, on a blitz through San Francisco to publicize the more cinematic follow-up to the Oscarwinning “Truth.” The sequel is far more lively than its predecessor as it follows Gore’s globe-trotting visits to regions devastated by climate change and participation in meetings with movers and shakers in the renewable-energy movement. The new film opens wide Aug. 4.
Given the central role played by the 2016 Paris climate accord (the former Tennessee congressman had helped get India aboard), Cohen said, “It was incumbent upon us to acknowledge the pull- out of Paris ( by President Trump). ...”
The updates reinforce the film’s take-action message. But surprisingly “An Inconvenient Sequel” offers comfort, too, to those who are deeply concerned about the environment.
At a San Francisco hotel where the documentary team did interviews, Gore exuded optimism and an ongoing commitment to the decades- old cause. But when asked about being a beacon of hope Gore, 69, graciously shined the spotlight others.
“Well, I’m just a messenger,” he said. “… Bonni and Jon (have) figured out a way to convey this message in a really compelling, entertaining and emotionally moving film.”
Gore, who was initially reluctant to do a sequel, was swayed by two factors — “the climate-related extreme weather events that have become more common and destructive” and “the solutions that are available now.”
He says that, while solutions “were visible on the horizon a decade ago, … now that they’re here it’s a whole different story, and we need to tell that story to give people hope.”
Award-winning wife-and-husband filmmakers Cohen and Shenk (who previously directed “Audrie & Daisy,” a film about the effects of bullying on teenagers) won over Gore when they told him what they envisioned. “We decided to do this kind of behindthe-scenes approach where we’d basically show up at Al’s doorstep,” said Shenk.
As the film unspools, they visit numerous locations from Tacloban in the Philippines (where Gore talks to refugees of a devastating super typhoon) to Georgetown, Texas, where staunch Republican mayor Dale Ross spearheaded that city’s switch from traditional sources to renewable energy.
Gore’s visit with Ross is a highlight of the film, and so is the visit to Greenland where the glaciers are melting.
“(Ross) illustrates a very powerful phenomenon unfolding around the world right now,” Gore said. “Even people who are not comfortable with the phrase ‘global warming’ are looking at the economic advantages of switching to solar and wind. They’re saving money, and then they notice the air cleaner. And then they start saying something that they never said before: ‘Isn’t it just right to hand off a better world to our kids?’ … In the past … (that idea) could have conflicted with their political identity, and now they don’t have to take off their jersey or leave the tribe.”
Asked what’s the key motivator for change, Gore said keeping energy cheap. “Now in Silicon Valley,” he said, “they’re introducing new batteries that are so affordable … they will magnify the impact of renewable energy. That’s going to be a game changer for the whole global system.”