No Impact Man

GLOBAL WARMING! The headlines scream it; the thermometer confirms it; but few of us do much to address it. Author Colin Beavan and his family are pictures of liberal complacency—sophisticated, takeout-addicted New Yorkers who refuse to let moral qualms interfere with good old-fashioned American consumerism. Then Colin turns things upside down. For his next book, he announces he's becoming No Impact Man, testing whether making zero environmental impact adversely affects happiness. The hitch is he needs his wife, Michelle—an espresso-guzzling, Prada-worshipping Business Week writer—and their toddler to join the experiment.A year without electricity, cars, toilet paper, and nonlocal food isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Or is it? As Michelle contends with caffeine and shopping withdrawal, compost worms, and defending her dreams in the face of Colin’s household hegemony, she’s gradually transformed by this life-without-wastefulness. Meanwhile, Colin’s numerous media appearances unleash a viral rash of criticism among bloggers and friends, raising doubts about the project’s integrity. Is it ostentatious or altruistic? Hypocritical or visionary?Whatever the conclusion, no one can deny we’re going to have to alter our habits radically to achieve sustainability. Through the intimate prism of conflict within a contemporary marriage, No Impact Man suggests that individual change can be the first step in a quantum leap toward a systemic, societal shift. And the temporary discomfort just might be worth it.
CAST

Laura Gabbert, Justin Schein - 

Laura Gabbert earned her MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. She produced the critically acclaimed feature Getting to Know You, which screened at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and directed the award-winning documentaries Healers of 400 Parnassus and Sunset Story. She has received the UCLA Distinguished Alumni Award and served on the ITVS documentary-selection committee.

Justin Schein received his master's degree from Stanford University and has shot more than 50 documentary films. Presently Schein is in production on Upside-down and Backwards, a hybrid animated documentary about dyslexia, and Imagining Peace, a film about Israeli and Palestinian teenage girls. He recently served as cocinematographer with Albert Maysles on The Four Seasons.

Screenings:

Fri. Jan 16 11:30 a.m. - NOIMP16LD Library Center Theatre, Park City
Sat. Jan 17 3:15 p.m. - NOIMP17SA Screening Room, Sundance Resort
Sun. Jan 18 12:30 p.m. - NOIMP18GD Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, SLC
Sun. Jan 18 11:30 p.m. - NOIMP183L Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Fri. Jan 23 5:30 p.m. - NOIMP233E Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City