Carleton College will present a special screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary film “Above All Else” on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weitz Center for Creativity Cinema. Directed by John Fiege, Carleton Class of 1997, and produced by Daryl Hannah, “Above All Else” reveals the hidden story of how the Keystone XL pipeline battle in East Texas has built a community of resistance to the climate crisis in Amerca. Winner of the Best North American Documentary at the Global Visions Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the Dallas International Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter called the film “an inspiring, dramatic, and very timely eco-doc.” This screening is free and open to the public.
In this dramatic, firsthand account of activists on the front line of the climate fight, one man risks it all to stop the tar sands of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from crossing his land. Shot in the forests, pastures, and living rooms of rural East Texas, “Above All Else” follows David Daniel, a retired stunt man and high wire artist, as he rallies neighbors and activists to join him in a final act of brinkmanship: a tree-top blockade of the controversial pipeline. What begins as a stand against corporate encroachments on one man's land becomes a rallying cry for climate protesters nationwide.
More about the film, including a trailer, can be found online at www.aboveallelsefilm.com.
John Fiege ’97 returns to Carleton as the Bernstein Visiting Scholar and Alumni-In-Residence. A director, cinematographer and photographer whose films have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, SXSW, and the Museum of Modern Art, Fiege was the director of photography for the film “No No: A Dockumentary,” which screened at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Variously described as “immersive,” “saturated,” “patient,” and “precise,” Fiege’s distinct cinematic approach translates the political into the personal.
He holds a BA in geology from Carleton, an MS in cultural geography and environmental history from The Pennsylvania State University, and an MFA in film production from the University of Texas at Austin.
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Department of Geology, Environmental Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, the Office of the Dean of the College, The Humanities Center and The Career Center. For more information including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4407. The Weitz Center for Creativity is located at Third and College Streets in Northfield.
