From Story to Film to Impact through DC’s Environmental Film Festival

By Jake Ha (4/20/25) — Washington D.C.

It was strange walking into the NYU DC auditorium that day. Usually, it would be filled with familiar student faces, but today, it was filled with adults attending one of the screenings for the annual DC Environmental Film Festival. At that moment, it felt like I walked into a group I wasn’t part of. 

Today was the screening of Clean Economy NOW, a film about the political side of the transition to solar energy. I didn’t know what to expect, or even how this whole film festival would work. Why make a film? I asked myself. What change could a film make, especially compared to the policy or direct sustainable action that my peers constantly write about?

The speakers for the film. From right to left: Clare Fieseler (moderator), Bob Keefe, Olivia Amyete, Robert Howey, Roger Sorkin.

I patiently listened to the moderator introduce the directors and film subjects. Roger Sorkin, filmmaker and founder of the American Resilience Project. Bob Keefe, Executive Director of E2. Olivia Amyette, solar entrepreneur. Robert Howey, QCells employee. These names didn’t have meaning to me, at least then.

The lights dimmed for the first clips of the film. It introduced the topic of the attack on the Inflation Recovery Act and how it would affect the growing renewable energy companies in Republican communities, like Dalton, Georgia. A whir of statistics, percentages, and facts flew by my head. 16,000 jobs total. QCells, a solar company in Georgia, providing 2,000 of them. The Inflation Reduction Act investing $130 billion into clean energy factories, mostly in Republican areas. 

It had only been a couple of minutes until the lights turned back on. Bob Keefe talked about the purpose of making a film—sharing stories to induce change when all other avenues are blocked. The story is the frontline of this fight, so filmmakers must go to places to find people with stories.

But what story was there in a glorified fact sheet?

Still, I sat through further inquiries on the motives for the film. It focused on how clean energy shouldn’t be polarized, as its renunciation hurts the Republican communities that rely on it economically and the Democrat communities that want environmental protection. I had fervently written a quote from Roger Sorkin, “Sometimes, progress is made when someone stops talking.” It was meant for when Republican lawmakers stopped publicly opposing the Inflation Reduction Act (and clean energy as a whole) since their constituent communities benefited from it. 

As the lights dimmed again for a different section of the film, the talking slowly stopped.

The film highlighted Olivia’s company, Infinite Energy Advisors, in Cleveland, Georgia. It delved deep into the experiences of consumers, of government officials, and of Olivia. Every scene had an emotional connection—from the person who owned a boat and filled it with solar panels, to the farmer wanting energy independence and cheaper electricity, to Olivia’s concerns about stipends from the Inflation Reduction Act potentially disappearing. I was starting to see the power of a film; using repeated stories to give meaning to the statistics from earlier. Here on the screen are people who benefitted from cheaper clean energy in their Republican communities. It is these individuals who show how clean energy isn’t a political problem, but instead an economic solution. 

But there was one interviewed person who defined the film, evoking the emotions of me and the audience. JD Van Goose was introduced on his porch, with his barely understandable voice and a messy large white beard. The audience was laughing. And then the film zoomed in, revealing that he was holding a semi-assault rifle! People around me gasped, holding in further laughter. But JD Van Goose told the film crew himself that he embraced solar simply because it was cheaper and more independent. Neither of those factors were political. He gives further context to his individual story; he and his wife run a veterinary clinic and own a large wildlife rehabilitation center. I heard some “awws” from the crowd. The entire room had gone from laughter to admiration. If there was any doubt on whether solar should be a political issue or not, this man’s story cemented the film’s goal on its economic focus. And that’s the power of a film.

Through emotional ties from unique individual stories, these films shown in the DC Environmental Film Festival and by the American Resilience Project move their audience, inspiring and connecting them more than any expert reciting facts or company promoting sustainability.

“I’m always thinking of the audience,” Roger told me in an interview a few days later. He said that the film was meant for people who benefitted from the use of clean energy and those who want a renewable energy transition. Through them, the people opposing renewable energy, including elected lawmakers, can realize the impact of repealing the Inflation Reduction Act. 

The event ended with a casual Q&A. A question from a Sierra Club member, then a journalist, followed by just an environmentally concerned person, and finally me, an NYU SAIL blog writer. Whether it was the shared humor about JD Van Goose, whose nickname became “Gun guy,” shared smiles about support for offshore wind farms, or shared concerns about lithium mining for solar and EVs, I felt a connection with this group of otherwise strangers; all the humor, smiles, and concerns. It was all possible due to an emotional connection to the same topic, brought up by facts, feelings, and film.

I had brought a 3x5 card to write notes and quotes on. It wasn’t nearly enough, so I used the handout brochures for more space.