A decade after Al Gore’s Academy Award–winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, its sequel is set to do the same in 2017. At the 2006 festival and beyond, Gore’s sweeping call to action in the face of rapid environmental degradation made such a cultural impact that it brought the notion of climate change into the mainstream. (And made Gore a folksy hero, gently and happily lampooned on shows like 30 Rock and South Park for his strident climate proselytizing.) The debut of the sequel at 2017’s festival takes things even further: The film is part of a larger slate of themed work with an environmental focus called “The New Climate,†encompassing “14 documentaries, short films, and virtual reality experiences†across the festival’s many categories.
Gore will attend and sit on a panel called “Power of Story†on January 22, just days after Donald Trump’s inauguration. A press release about the film’s Sundance debut calls the sequel to An Inconvenient Truth a “riveting follow up to the original film that shows both the escalation of the crisis and how close we are to a real solution.†A wider release will likely follow, but interested parties will also be able to livestream the January 22 panel with Gore and other climate experts and filmmakers, which will be moderated by Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman.