Energy Country

How do economic interests shape political decisions? How do decision-making processes work in large infrastructure projects? And can we tackle the problem of climate change mainly by relying on technological progress? These are the core questions of the documentary ENERGY COUNTRY. It portrays the region of Lusatia and eastern Brandenburg as a region torn apart: on one side is the energy giant Vattenfall, a company pushing for a legal framework to roll out CCS technology. The company sees the capture and injection of CO2 from coal-fired power generation into underground rock strata — the process the technology relies on — as a way to make lignite "climate-friendly". In the storage regions around Birkholz-Beeskow and Neutrebbin, however, these plans meet considerable resistance. Opponents of the technology point not only to the potential risks of CCS, such as groundwater salinisation or gas leakage, but also to the consequences of continuing to burn lignite for power. ENERGY COUNTRY follows the everyday life of the controversy — from spontaneous actions by citizens' initiatives, through panel discussions and demonstrations, to internal meetings among Vattenfall staff or large PR campaigns run by the IZ Klima. The controversy over CCS raises fundamental questions about the political challenges of Germany's energy transition.

The film was screened at numerous festivals and received several nominations and awards:

* DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival * Incredible Filmfestival, Lindenberg, prize “Best Documentary” * Lubuskie Lato Filmowej competition, Lagów, Poland * CinemAmbiente Environmental Film Festival, Italy * International Student Film Festival “Sehsüchte” Potsdam, Fokus Nachhaltigkeit, special mention of the German Bundestag * Ökofilmtour, nominated for the prize “Best Documentary” * Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival München * Filmfestival Cottbus * DOK Leipzig, nominated for the prize “Friedliche Revolution”