A film that will be screened in Saratoga Springs this weekend interweaves two topics close to the heart of the filmmaker. Derek Hallquist intended to make the film “Denial” to explain the electric grid and its impact on the environment. For years he followed his father, the leader of a small electric utility, as he tried to confront how the electricity sector addresses climate change. But Hallquist says that as filming on the documentary progressed he discovered and then interwove his father’s personal story of confronting gender denial.
“It really ended up in the end being wonderful that we had all these complicated stories because they started leaning on each other. We would talk about the complications of climate change which would then in a funny way explain the complications of gender identity. And the solutions of gender identity would then help with finding out solutions to thinking about climate change and how we deal with it. It sounds crazy on paper and it sounds crazy when you talk about it in short sound bites but when you sit down and watch the move and you get into it, it kind of blows your mind.”
“Denial” will be shown at the Bow Tie Cinemas in Saratoga Springs at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Both Derek and his parent Christine Hallquist will hold a question and answer session following the showing.
The film premieres in Europe next month and will also be screened at the upcoming Environmental Film Festival at Yale.
