Pandora’s Promise

Robert Stone, Robert Stone | 2013 | 80 min.

2014 Official Selection

In the next few decades, humankind will need to double, or even triple energy production as billions of people in the developing world lift themselves out of poverty and begin to live modern lives. Unless the source of this new energy is clean and non-CO2 emitting, the risk of triggering a devastating global climate catastrophe is all but certain. The magnitude of this dilemma has left the mainstream environmental movement teetering between apocalyptic thinking and utter disarray. Plunging headfirst into this challenge comes Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Robert Stone’s controversial and provocative new film PANDORA’S PROMISE, coming to theaters nationwide on June 12. A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, PANDORA’S PROMISE dares to tackle the emerging divide within the environmental movement over nuclear energy through the intimately told stories of thinkers, experts and authors who have come to change their minds about nuclear power. Stone elegantly interweaves the personal narratives of five extraordinary characters – Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger – to explore how these individuals have come to see advanced nuclear power as humankind’s greatest hope. By unearthing their personal transformations, Stone pierces commonly held assumptions and provides a captivating deconstruction of popular myths about radiation, waste and weapons, taking viewers on a riveting and mind-altering journey.