As the climate crisis accelerates, geoengineering—purposeful human intervention into the Earth’s climate system—has moved from fringe theory to active pursuit. This analytical look centers on physicist David Keith, a prominent leader in solar geoengineering, and examines the promise and peril of intentionally cooling the planet. Through interviews with scientists, policymakers, and critics, the film offers a measured yet urgent inquiry into technologies advancing faster than public understanding. As debates within science and environmental advocacy groups intensify and progress stalls, unregulated independent for-profit ventures such as Make Sunsets, a company that releases manmade “clouds” into the atmosphere, conduct unsanctioned experiments that underscore the absence of meaningful oversight. Meanwhile, Keith’s ties to petroleum corporations raise difficult questions about corporate influence and possible greenwashing. Clear-eyed and timely, the documentary asks who gets to decide the planet’s future — and at what cost. —Michelle Svenson
Ben Kalina is a director and producer whose work centers on the collision between humanity, technology, and the force of nature. His 2014 film Shored Up explored rising sea levels and the politics of climate change in the US in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, winning the Sundance Institute LightStay Sustainability Award. Among his other films are We Cool the Planet? (2020) and A River Reborn (2021).
BEN KALINA • Director