Climate Refugees

For the term in general, see environmental migrant.

Climate Refugees is a 2010 American documentary film, directed and produced by Michael P. Nash. The documentary attempts to cover the human impact of climate change by considering those who could most be affected by it.^[1][2][3]

Climate Refugees
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael P. Nash
Written by	Michael P. Nash
Produced by	Justin Hogan Nicole Boxer Michael P. Nash
Edited by	Nancy Frazen Brett Langefels Michael P. Nash Katina Zinner
Music by	Michael Mollura
Production companies	LA Think Tank Beverly Hills Productions
Distributed by	Netflix (2013)
Release date	January 29, 2010 (2010-01-29) (Sundance Film Festival)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.6 million

Content

With contributions from several politicians, scientists, and environmental activists, including Senator John Kerry, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Vice President Al Gore, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, the film documents the human plight of climate change with a focus on the intersection of over population, lack of resources and climatic change. Filmmaker Michael Nash and producing partner Justin Hogan traveled to 48 countries in search of the human face of climate change.

The film attempts to illuminate the national security implications of countries running out of food and water due to vast droughts and climatic shifts.^[4]

Interviewees

• Lester Brown
• Wangari Maathai
• Yvo de Boer
• Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich
• Newt Gingrich
• John Kerry
• Bert Metz
• Barack Obama
• Nancy Pelosi
• Gov. Bill Ritter
• Ken Salazar
• Stephen Schneider
• Achim Steiner
• Desmond Tutu
• Al Gore (archive footage)

Release

Its world premiere was 29 January 2010 at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and it was released on August 17, 2011.^[5] The film had a small theatrical release, and distributed by Netflix, iTunes and Amazon. It was particularly marketed through screening events, having been screened at the Senate and House, The Pentagon, The Vatican, and foundations including the United Nations COP15 climate summit in December 2009 in Copenhagen. Many screenings and discussion events for the film were held at universities.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Reception

Robert Redford described it in The New York Times as "a resounding wake-up call for every human being." The documentary went on to play in over 100 festivals around the world winning multiple awards.