Two New Films Explore America’s Obsession with Oil in Time for Earth Day | Alexander Street

Two New Films Explore America’s Obsession with Oil in Time for Earth Day

April 18, 2012

April 18, 2012 (ALEXANDRIA, VA) Filmakers Library, an imprint of Alexander Street Press, announces the addition of The Big Fix and Freedom to their catalog of film titles.

Available exclusively through Filmakers, both films are directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, directors of the Sundance award-winning documentary Fuel. The Big Fix explores the issues behind the Deepwater Horizon disaster, contextualizing the event and revealing the full narrative of how the disaster came to be. Freedom is a promising look at the future of fuel, outlining the technologies and policies that can help free society from repeating the past and facing the ills—including disasters like the Deepwater Horizon collapse—from the continued exploitation of fossil fuels.

By exposing the root causes of the oil spill and what really happened after the news cameras left the Gulf States, The Big Fix uncovers corruption and a cover up. Uncensored journalists, local people whose health suffered dramatically, and scientists describe the cataclysmic effects of the spill. The Big Fix was an Official Selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, the 2011 New Orleans Film Festival, the Best of Fest – IDFA 2011, and numerous other regional film festivals.

The New York Times said, “The Big Fix is an enraged exposé of the crimes of Big Oil, specifically BP, which has been accused of negligence and of taking shortcuts that helped lead to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig off the Louisiana coast in April 2010. The film’s conspiratorial viewpoint makes sense and is probably accurate.”

There is widespread agreement that America needs to wean itself off oil yet, among alternative energy sources, the most common and accessible biofuel—ethanol—is a lightning rod of controversy. An anti-ethanol coalition made up of both big oil and hard-line environmentalists stokes the fire of that controversy. In Freedom, the Tickells set out to learn the truth about this home-grown fuel and explore how it fits into a solution to America’s oil fix.

Freedom offers an array of green solutions. We learn about advanced biofuels, plug-in hybrids, and other sustainable technologies that could fulfill our transportation needs and watch insightful and inspirational interviews from former NATO Commander Wesley Clark; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; singer/songwriter Jason Mraz; international author Deepak Chopra; and actors Michelle Rodriguez, Amy Smart, and Ed Begley, Jr.

Freedom won Best Documentary and Best of Fest at the Brantford International Film Festival, 2011, and the Golden Ace Award at the 2011 Las Vegas Film Festival.

Both films are available for preorder on DVD at http://filmakers.com/ and will be available for online streaming on the Academic Video Store in May.

Previews of both films can be found here and here on the Alexander Street Press YouTube channel.

To request review copies, please contact Jessica Kemp at jkemp [at] alexanderstreet [dot] com.

 

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About Alexander Street Press
Alexander Street Press is an electronic publisher of award-winning online collections and video for scholarly research, teaching, and learning. Our products are available to libraries and educational institutions worldwide via annual subscription or one-time purchase. Learn more at http://www.alexanderstreet.com.

 

Contact for Media Inquiries / Reviewer Access:

Jessica Kemp

Director of Marketing
Alexander Street Press

3212 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-212-8520 x 115

jkemp [at] alexanderstreet [dot] com

http://www.alexanderstreet.com

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