RACING THE CLOCK

Boulder ENOFF returns with an urgent call to climate action

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Yes, it’s beautiful out there. Probably the Boulder region’s best summer in recent memory: cool temperatures (until recently), lots of rain and no smoke to speak of. It’s lovely. But not too far east, it’s tornadoes and hail. To the south, heat domes push into the triple digits. And to the north, a massive wildfire has displaced more than 100,000 people and blotted out the skies along the east coast.

“We’ve run out of time to be afraid,” filmmaker Oliver Stone says in his new documentary, Nuclear Now, which will open the 2023 Boulder Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival at the Dairy Arts Center. Founded by Richard Paradise, Boulder ENOFF is a four-day

THURSDAY, JULY 13

Opening night reception

Feat. live music by

The Atom Collective

5:30-9 p.m. - Hilton Garden Inn Boulder

Nuclear Now

Feat. Mark P. Jensen of the Colorado School of Mines and Chris Noonan of Peregrine Energy

7:30 p.m. - Gordon

Gamm Theater

(July 13-16) marriage of activism and entertainment, the kind of soirée where intelligent people talk about potential solutions to serious problems while walking the green carpet. That makes Nuclear Now the ideal kickoff for a festival tackling the sticky side of doing right. Yes, Stone is a filmmaker who loves to court controversy. And, sure, nuclear-powered anything is a touchy subject in a town less than 20 miles north of a former nuclear munitions plant. But we have to turn somewhere to stop the worldwide damage from burning fossil fuels while filling in the energy gap left by wind and solar. For Stone, that answer is nuclear power.

FRIDAY, JULY 14

Youth v. Gov

Feat. Nic Venner, climate activist and film subject

4 p.m. - Boedecker

Cinema

The Grab

Feat. Sean Kohler of Boulder Food Rescue

4:30 p.m. - Gordon

Gamm Theater

Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story

Feat. Matt Jessmore of the Wild Animal Sanctuary

7 p.m. - Boedecker

Cinema

Enter the Slipstream

Feat. director Ted

Youngs and producer

Matthew Rogers

7:30 p.m. - Gordon

Gamm Theater

And Stone knows most of his viewers are scared of that proposition. They associate nuclear with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Rocky Flats, and Blinky, the three-eyed fish in The Simpsons. There is no shortage of nuclear doomsday in media, and with the release of the big-budget blockbuster Oppenheimer due out this month, it’s not going away.

SATURDAY, JULY 15

Short Film Competition Program

4 p.m. - Boedecker

Cinema

One Kidney Climb: Kilimanjaro + All

Among the Bison + Elevated Feat. climbers Samantha Carreiro, Emily Polet Monterosso and Matt Harmody

4:30 p.m. - Gordon Gamm Theater

The Scale of Hope

Feat. Molly Kawahata, former Obama White House climate advisor

7 p.m. - Boedecker

Cinema

Vertical Life: Rock Climbing Shorts

7:30 p.m. - Gordon

Gamm Theater

SUNDAY, JULY 16

Solutions

Feat. Kelsey Simpkins of Regional Air Quality Council

1 p.m. - Boedecker

Cinema

A Crack in the Mountain

Feat. Dylan Beeson of Travel-Well Consultancy

1:30 p.m. - Gordon Gamm Theater

Patrick and the Whale Feat. adventurer Patrick Dykstra

4 p.m. - Gordon Gamm Theater

Closing night reception

Feat. Shawn Cunnane Trio

6-7:30 p.m. - Hilton Garden Inn Boulder

But as Stone and the scientists he interviews point out, the real threat remains climate change. One scientist likens it to the scene in Stand By Me, where the two boys are stuck on a high bridge with an oncoming train. Neither wants to jump off the bridge into the river below to avoid the train. But, as the scientist points out: “The jump is scary, but it’s the train that’s gonna kill you.”

And Boulder ENOFF’s line-up features plenty of those metaphorical trains. In Youth v. Gov, the younger generation speaks up for their right to a safe and stable planet, while the investigative documentary The Grab uncovers the political maneuvering of global land grabs and the economic and humanitarian fallout they cause.

Thankfully, not everything playing Boulder ENOFF is dire. Many of the titles celebrate the beauty, majesty and diversity of our world, not to mention the tenacity and resourcefulness of the human spirit. These movies make you want to get outside and enjoy nature while you can.

There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow coming, and if you’re looking to embrace it instead of fear it, these movies will help.

ON SCREEN: Boulder

Environmental / Nature / Outdoors Film Festival, July 13-16, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut, Boulder, 80302. Tickets and details at thedairy.org