Category Archives: video blog

“The Great Divide” & “Still Out of Balance”, on the way…

Near the end of 2015, after InsideClimate News and/or the L.A. Times broke the story about former Exxon scientists who studied the human effect on climate for the oil giant, and after PBS’s Frontline posted a few interview clips with one of the journalists and two of the scientists, I began work on “Still Out of Balance”. It has been a long slog ever since, trying to keep moving forward. The rough cut is under 3 hours, but there is still a ways to go. I remind myself now and then that  Claude Lanzmann took twelve years to make “Shoah”. Not that there’s any comparing “Still Out of Balance” with one of the most heralded, monumental documentary achievements in the history of the genre.

While we’re polishing off the long form version, a new vlog is in the works to begin posting within a week or so. “The Great Divide” is written and narrated by Joe Public Films’ founder Tom Jackson, and the behind the scenes tech guru is Bill Rogers, who worked on “Out of Balance” years ago with Tom, Peter Vandermark, Mike Soha, and the rest. “The Great Divide” focuses on the many deep divisions within the USA today, which have been exacerbated by the current administration. The vlog posts will feature some clips from many of the interviews shot for “Still Out of Balance” — a bit of a sneak preview, in a new form.

Stay tuned.

DOWNLOAD OUT OF BALANCE NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH JOE PUBLIC FILMS

“Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change”, can now be purchased directly through Joe Public Films in an electronic download of the award-winning documentary!

Out of Balance is just as relevant now as it was when it was first released– perhaps more so. Bill McKibben, Ross Gelbspan, IPCC director RK Pachauri, and a host of REAL CLIMATE SCIENTISTS including Michael Oppenheimer, Bob Watson, Cameron Wake, Paul Mayewski, and many others warn of the effects of unabated fossil fuel emissions, and point out ExxonMobil’s leading role in funding climate change skeptics and shills for the fossil fuel industry.

Out of Balance has won numerous awards, including Best Documentary-Environmental at the 2007 Artivist Film Festival. The documentary aired several times on LinkTV, including a special program featuring Van Jones. Out of Balance also aired on Telesur Internacional, seen throughout the Spanish speaking world.

If you’ve already seen Out of Balance, watch it again– you’ll be amazed, and no doubt upset that this film is still so on point seven years after its release. Too little has changed when it comes to addressing the issue of climate change, and when it comes to the influence of the world’s most dangerous company.

Click the link below to access the download page:

http://www.joepublicfilms.com/vlog/downloads/out-of-balance/

 

Out of Balance a hit in Paraguay

JPF received word from the organizer of the film fest in Paraguay re. the August 14th screening of Out of Balance. The organizer, Hugo Gamarra Etcheverry, refers to “Marisela” at TeleSur Internacional who saved the day by providing a DVD with Spanish captions.

“I want you to know that the DVD arrived to our hands 2 hours before the show ! Thanks so much again Marisela.

The film was shown for a crowd of 120 persons, who applauded spontaneously at the end and during the conversation session afterwards, there were mostly expressions of concern for what the film tells and appreciation for the way it is told. So, Tom, I am very happy for my selection. There is another screening on the 24th.”

The festival’s website is www.pla.net.py/cinefest/festidoc

Autumn trailer for documentary in production

This is the autumn trailer/fundraising video for our current documentary, which is in production. “No Country for Cold Men” is about the home heating oil crisis in Maine. Last year there were reports of people having to choose between food, meds, gas for the car, or home heating oil. This year is likely to be as bad or worse. This documentary is being produced in hopes of raising awareness, concern and action. While we move toward renewables and away from oil, we must help those in need.