Catching the Sun

An unemployed American worker, a Tea Party activist, and a Chinese solar entrepreneur race to lead the clean energy future. Who wins and who loses in the battle for power in the 21st century?

Shalini Kantayya

2016

73 mins

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Through the stories of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China, Catching the Sun captures the global race to lead the clean energy future.

A must-see film. An eye-opening look at workers and entrepreneurs on the forefront of the clean energy movement that will transform, and enliven the way you see the future. What is clear is the wonderful opportunity the transition to clean energy represents.

Mark Ruffalo

Synopsis

Over the course of a solar jobs training program, Catching the Sun follows the hope and heartbreak of unemployed American workers seeking jobs in the solar industry. With countries like China investing in innovative technologies and capitalizing on this trillion-dollar opportunity, Catching the Sun tells the story of the global energy transition from the perspective of workers and entrepreneurs building solutions to income inequality and climate change with their own hands. Their successes and failures speak to one of the biggest questions of our time: will the U.S. actually be able to build a clean energy economy?

Reviews

One notion underlying Shalini Kantayya's winning documentary, Catching the Sun, is that solar power is not only a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels but can also effectively curtail unemployment.

Andy Webster

The New York Times

Director Commentary

The journey to make Catching the Sun began because I was looking for hope. In post-industrial cities like Richmond, California, the dream of upward mobility is eroding. The oil economy has created monopolies and concentrated wealth and power in the hands of the few. I was fascinated by the idea that solar power could democratize and decentralize energy in a way that rebuilds the ladder of economic opportunity for workers and entrepreneurs. Through an unlikely set of characters, Catching the Sun is about people daring to lead a massive global energy transition that is already rapidly in play.

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Subtitle/Caption Languages

English

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An image from the film Catching the Sun of workers in jeans and red t-shirts installing solar panels on a building's roof.

film poster for Catching the Sun with a person wearing a hard hat with their back turned and facing the sun

Shalini Kantayya

Filmmaker and eco-activist Shalini Kantayya finished in the top 10 out of 12,000 filmmakers on Fox’s ON THE LOT, a show by Steven Spielberg in search of Hollywood’s next great director. The mission of her company, 7th Empire Media, is to create a culture of human rights and a sustainable planet through imaginative visual storytelling. She is a Sundance Documentary Film Fellow, a TED Fellow, and was a finalist for the ABC Disney | Directors Guild of America Directing Fellowship. www.shalini.tv

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