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TURTLE ON A FENCE POST

TURTLE ON A FENCE POST
By Patrick Costello

GENRE: Drama
LOGLINE:

Why is humanity failing to meet the existential threat of climate chaos? A young, Black climate scientist realizes that Big Oil – the fossil fuel industry - is the culprit and sets out to prove it. But that makes her a target – even of her own family. Her oil company executive brother uses every trick in the book to terminate her career and convince the world the threat to the climate posed by fossil fuel emissions isn't real.

SYNOPSIS:

Zelda, the sister of Oil company executive Adam, becomes a climate scientist. In early 2009 she publishes ice core research holding fossil fuel emissions responsible for global warming and irreversible sea level rise. Weeks before a UN sponsored climate summit in Copenhagen in December, Adam secretly facilitates a computer hack and smear (an event known as “Climategate”) discrediting Zelda’s research and derailing the summit. Media sensationalism turns Zelda into a scape-goat and she’s besieged by threatening calls. Her research funding is cut off. Devastated by these setbacks, her youthful self-destructive tendencies re-emerge and she suffers a life-threatening injury. Under sedation during her recovery, Zelda has visions of a spirit guide (Greta Thunberg) showing her dystopian/utopian images of potential climate futures.

When Zelda awakens she’s thrilled to learn that a scientific government inquiry has cleared her name. Newly inspired, she resumes her career, launching into a confrontation with the Fossil Fuel industry over its long campaign of scientific disinformation. She gives a talk that goes viral calling for whistleblowers to assist her efforts. Adam is sent to the Oil Co. archives to retrieve records of climate research. He’s shocked by what he finds, realizing that Big Oil has been lying for decades and hiding their own knowledge of their key role in causing climate breakdown. Seeing Zelda on social media asking for help he decides to seize a chance for redemption. His wife threatens to leave him if he jeopardizes his job. Filled with remorse, guilt and rage, he hatches a plan to confront his Oil Co. boss at gun point and force him to tell the media the truth about hacking Zelda’s email.

TURTLE ON A FENCE POST

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Nathaniel Baker

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Bianca Y. Michaels

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Bianca Y. Michaels

I love it! I want to see it on screen! We need this so much right now!

Rimi B. Chatterjee

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Nate Rymer

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