About the Film
By the middle of this century, we will trigger runaway climate change — a process beyond our control. What do you do if you have that information? What do you do?
Academy Award®-Winning documentary filmmaker Charles Ferguson (Inside Job, No End in Sight) turns his lens to address worldwide climate change challenges and solutions in his new film TIME TO CHOOSE.
Featuring narration by award-winning actor Oscar Isaac, TIME TO CHOOSE leaves audiences understanding not only what is wrong, but what can to be done to fix this global threat.
Ferguson explores the comprehensive scope of the climate change crisis and examines the power of solutions already available. Through interviews with world-renowned entrepreneurs, innovators, thought leaders and brave individuals living on the front lines of climate change, Ferguson takes an In-depth look at the remarkable people working to save our planet.
Our story
Climate change is the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced – and it is also our greatest opportunity. We have the solutions we need, but we are in a race against the clock to implement them in time.
Oscar-winning documentary director Charles Ferguson captures the urgency and innovation of this critical moment in his new film, TIME TO CHOOSE which takes audiences on a journey from the threats we face to the remarkable stories of people changing our world for the better.
TIME TO CHOOSE also delivers a clear message to audiences: we can take action to stop this global threat. It is the first major film to offer compelling stories of the innovators, leaders and average people fighting on the front lines for a cleaner, more sustainable world.
Its scope is truly global, with footage and interviews from five continents. The film’s investigation of the true costs of fossil fuels and industrialized agriculture takes audiences inside the drivers of these global phenomena. Audiences meet Appalachian residents suffering from coal-poisoned waters, descend into the dangerous coal pits of China, see the red night skies of Nigeria’s oil and gas lands, and hear from courageous officials fighting corruption and deforestation in Indonesia. Through these portraits and more, Ferguson shows the toll the status quo is taking on human lives and the world around us.
But TIME TO CHOOSE also features world-renowned entrepreneurs, innovators, and thought leaders who point the way to a better world. Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity and Nobel Prize winner Muhammed Yunus show viewers how citizens around the globe are accessing affordable renewable energy, while Dr. Jane Goodall connects climate to the places and animals we love. Governor Jerry Brown urges leaders to join the path to sustainability and Chinese wind and solar manufacturers discuss how they’ve built some of the largest renewable energy installations in the world. Plus, regular people from around the world talk about winning fights to save their communities from the effects of fossil fuels and industrial agriculture.
TIME TO CHOOSE leaves audiences understanding not only what is wrong, but what needs to be done to fix it. It looks squarely at our unique common moment on earth, with an eye to helping change the course of human history.
A message from the director
I made TIME TO CHOOSE because climate change is the most important issue facing humanity and we urgently need broader understanding of how enormously we would all benefit from addressing it. Fortunately it is a challenge that we hold in common, and the film shows that across the globe, in myriad ways, people are coming together to find and implement solutions. We’re not too late, and our hope is that TIME TO CHOOSE will help audiences see both the tragedy that is unfolding and the remarkable and innovative ways in which humanity is finding a better way forward.
In making the film, my team and I traveled to parts of the world where climate solutions are not only politically unpopular – it is often personally dangerous to advocate them. I think it’s important for people to understand that the corruption, inequality and violence faced by many people the world over are tied to the pollution, waste and destruction that are fueling climate change. If we solve one, we help solve the other.
My most surprising discovery in making this film is also the most crucial fact about this issue: the solutions to climate change are already here, waiting for us. We saw them in places as diverse as Indonesia, Kenya, China, Western Europe and California. Everywhere we traveled, people were developing new ways of living and benefiting from them. Their stories and their work are what will lead us forward.
I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Tom Dinwoodie, a co-founder of SunPower, just as my own interest in climate change and the possibilities of new technology was peaking, and he agreed to come on board the film as an executive producer and financier. His unwavering support made it possible for me to bring my vision to the screen and has helped make Time to Choose both a project that’s extremely meaningful to me and I hope truly groundbreaking.
There is simply no reason not to move into a new, sustainable world. I believe people are ready for that, and our hope is that TIME TO CHOOSE will help inspire audiences to be part of this new future.