With contributions from several politicians, scientists, and environmental activists, including Senator John Kerry, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Vice President Al Gore, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, the film documents the human plight of climate change with a focus on the intersection of over population, lack of resources and climatic change. Filmmaker Michael Nash and producing partner Justin Hogan traveled to 48 countries in search of the human face of climate change.
The film attempts to illuminate the national security implications of countries running out of food and water due to vast droughts and climatic shifts.[4]
Its world premiere was 29 January 2010 at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and it was released on August 17, 2011.[5] The film had a small theatrical release, and distributed by Netflix, iTunes and Amazon. It was particularly marketed through screening events, having been screened at the Senate and House, The Pentagon, The Vatican, and foundations including the United NationsCOP15 climate summit in December 2009 in Copenhagen. Many screenings and discussion events for the film were held at universities.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Reception
Robert Redford described it in The New York Times as "a resounding wake-up call for every human being." The documentary went on to play in over 100 festivals around the world winning multiple awards.
^Revkin, Andrew (16 September 2011). "Video View: 'Climate Refugees'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 January 2016. Michael Schlesinger, a climatologist and professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, had his 81 students in his course on Climate and Global Change watch the film (at the suggestion of Emily Cross, a student who contributed a piece from the last round of climate treaty negotiations in December). I proposed that they write short reactions or reviews and vote for their favorites, which we would post on Dot Earth.
