About the film

What we were trying to do is to create a brand new public consciousness that would cause the rules of the game to change… it was wild and exciting and out of control—and the sort of thing that lets you know you've got something big happening. —Denis Hayes, National Coordinator, Earth Day 1970

EARTH DAYS is a feature length documentary about the origins of the modern environmental movement, told through the eyes of nine Americans who were inspired to act on what they believed was the most important challenge facing mankind.

The film opens in the 1950s when a small group of scientists began to document the impact of our technology on the Earth’s ecosystem. Within a decade it seemed to many Americans as if the post-war dream of a better world brought about through science, technology and economic growth—the American dream—was turning into an unfathomable nightmare. National concern about the environment crystallized on April 22, 1970, when twenty million Americans across the country participated in celebrations and demonstrations—the

largest in American history—demanding political action to protect the environment. Their grassroots call to action led to groundbreaking national legislation, and started a revolution that is with us still.

The film features active participants in these watershed events, representing a diverse cross section of American life and politics. Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, renewable energy pioneer Hunter Lovins, biologist Paul Ehrlich, former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey, and Apollo Nine astronaut Rusty Schweickart are among the witnesses. Each reflects on their awakening to an environmental crisis, and the unprecedented movement that grew out of their response to that crisis.

EARTH DAYS examines both the groundbreaking achievements and missed opportunities of a decade of activism. Producer/Director Robert Stone, whose previous films for American Experience include the critically acclaimed OSWALD’S GHOST and the Academy Award-nominated RADIO BIKINI, artfully assembles never before seen archival footage to create a film that offers both a poetic meditation on man’s complex

relationship to nature, and a probing analysis of past responses to environmental crisis. Michael Giacchino composed the music for EARTH DAYS. One of Hollywood’s most sought after composers, Giacchino received an Academy Award nomination for his original score for Ratatouille. He has also won numerous awards for his work on The Incredibles and the ABC hit TV series Lost.

EARTH DAYS has been selected to be the Closing Night Film at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It will be released theatrically in 2009, followed by a national broadcast on PBS/American Experience in April 2010 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

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