Houston - We Have a Problem
Houston - We Have a Problem
Feature Film Documentary
(USA, 2009, 84 mins)
HDCAM - NTSC
World Premiere
Directed By: Nicole Torre
Executive Producer: Nicole Torre
Producer: Nicole Torre, Eric Mofford
Cinematographer: John Tarver
Editor: Sean Mcallen
Cast: Matt Simmons
"I don't think the oil companies have been good citizens," says Sen. Harry Reid early in this information-rich doc about the U.S. energy situation. But this film does not demonize oil; it humanizes the topic. We meet enough wildcatters and petroleum pioneers, risk-takers and big thinkers, to realize that loathing Exxon is a waste of personal energy reserves. Carl Pope of The Sierra Club puts it more sensibly when he says simply, "The industry is rooted in the past, and that's very dangerous when the world is going through rapid change."
This film then looks into that past, especially from President Nixon forward. We see, for example, that when V.P. George H.W. Bush cut a deal with the Saudis, he toppled the Soviet economy, making Reagan hero of the free world. But he also crippled American oil, made the U.S. dependent on its rivals, and effectively mocked Carter's call for alternative energy sources. It's a complex and rather ugly story, full of black goo and rusty oil rigs, aircraft carriers and old guys who have downed far too many cocktails.
Enter Obama. The film turns and looks into possible futures, varieties of energy alternatives, no one of which is likely to replace monster oil, but all of which together could serve as "a box of silver bullets." The film ends buoyantly but certainly with a sense of urgency. "Stopping bad things is not enough," says Carl Pope. "We have to make it really easy for good things to happen."

Followed by HAWAI'I 3D
www.houstonwehaveaproblemfilm.com

Not yet MPAA rated.
For ticketing information please phone 808-579-9244 or email boxoffice@mauifilmfestival.com


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