Power to Change - The Energy Rebellion

Is climate change a reality or just a figment of the imagination, a phenomenon invented by politicians and self-appointed do-gooders? There's been a long-running argument about that, after all. And even if there are still a few incorrigibles who don't want to believe it, it should have become clear to most people by now that our climate is actually changing. Storms, floods, too warm winters, too cold springs, heat records in summer, drought - all these are drastically increasing weather extremes that we will have to live with in the future. And if nothing is done, these extremes will become steadily more severe. Yet there is a feeling that nothing is really happening. The big industrial nations want to delay the switch to renewables as long as possible in order to secure jobs in nuclear and coal energy and of course - which may be the main reason - not to lose the profits generated from these sectors.

On the other hand, however, citizens' initiatives keep opposing the change. Something has to change - just not on your own doorstep please. In the face of all this, one may already be resigned to despair. But there is a small spark of hope on the gloomy horizon. And the documentary Power to Change - Die EnergieRebellion shows this in an impressive, informative and entertaining way. In his new work, filmmaker Carl-A. Fechner introduces people who want to change something and who actually follow words with deeds, even if obstacles are repeatedly placed in their way. At the same time, the film attempts to dispel myths surrounding the energy transition.

Fechner visits Edy Kraus, who is determined to make his dream of a mobile pellet plant a reality, even though it nearly bankrupts him. He accompanies Ganna Gladkykh, a young sustainability consultant in Ukraine, in his attempts to make a difference in his country. He talks to Peter Smith, who worked in a nuclear power station for 30 years and is now actively campaigning against the building of a new nuclear reactor in the UK. He lets politicians, economists, engineers and scientists have their say, trying to cover as many aspects of the issue as possible. Here and there the whole thing could have been a bit more critical, to make it clearer to the viewer how difficult, but also how important the fight for the energy transition is. And also the film music, which is a bit too pathos-ridden, could have been a bit more subtle.

But all in all Power to Change - The Energy Rebellion has become a good and important film, which manages to present its concern in a factual and balanced way, without beating the audience with a moral club. A film that informs, that at the same time provides suggestions and that in the end gives hope that perhaps something can be changed. Fechner makes it very clear that every individual can make a difference, even if the big power companies, industrial giants and politicians can and must make the most important decisions. Absolutely worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp