September brings a lot of great programming from Thom Powers, who leads the selection of documentaries for the Toronto Film Festival and helps pick the preview and retrospective titles for the Stranger Than Fiction series in NYC. Of course, he curates the Doc Club at SundanceNow every month, and this is no exception just because it appears to be his busiest time of the year. The latest crop goes by the now-annually recurring name “Fix This Planet” and is environmentalism themed, featuring films about pollution of all kinds.
I’ve seen almost all of this month’s titles, and I highly recommend a few I wished were more popular in their theatrical release. There’s Joe Berlinger’s Crude, which is the film about a legal battle between Chevron and indigenous people of the Amazon that later led to a court conflict for the filmmaker himself. There’s Windfall, a doc about the negative side of wind energy that I co-awarded a jury prize to at Doc NYC a few years back. And there’s Jane’s Journey, about Jane Goodall and her conservation and humanitarian efforts, a film that’s so much more necessary and entertaining than it sounds.
You can stream all seven of this month’s program for only $4.99. You can also get great deals on six month or year passes that keep you subscribed for future curations and gives you access to all the archived films from past programs, too. Here are the “Fix This Planet” titles and brief synopses:
- SURVIVING PROGRESS looks at the big picture of how technology and population growth impact the planet.
- JANE’S JOURNEY profiles chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall.
- THE TIGER NEXT DOOR examines a controversial animal breeder.
- CRUDE investigates a legal battle pitting Chevron against activists in the Amazon.
- WINDFALL follows the surprising backlash to wind energy in upstate New York.
- PLASTIC PLANET documents the devastating effects of our favorite material.
- PINK RIBBONS, INC questions the environmental causes of cancer and the “pink-washing” of corporations.