SWEET LAND
A Carbon Neutral Film

Filmmaking, in general, is a messy, pollution-spewing process. The lights, the cameras, and the action suck electricity, burn fossil fuels, and release thousands of pounds of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. As long as movie screens continue to glow, the planet will continue to get warmer.

It is possible, however, to make movies with less environmental impact, says filmmaker Ali Selim. To reduce and then neutralize the greenhouse gasses produced in the creation of his newest project, Selim worked with an organization in London called The CarbonNeutral Company.

Selim's film "Sweet Land" is the first independently produced American film that can be called carbon-neutral.

Carbon-neutral is not the same thing as carbon-free. Nearly everything we do, including breathing and boiling water for tea, produces carbon. We can't help it. But exhaling is nothing compared to turning on the lights and getting in the car. The burning of gas, oil, and other fossil fuels produces most of the carbon dioxide that has been accumulating in our atmosphere. Once the gas is up there, it traps heat from the sun that normally bounces back into space. As a result, temperatures rise around the globe.

In our daily lives, choosing to walk and bike instead of drive and keeping unused lights turned off can help. But a growing number of companies and individuals want to do more than just harm the earth less. They actually want to make it healthier. That is the mission that drives The CarbonNeutral Company. Founded in 2005, the company calculates every ounce of carbon used by a specific project, like the making of a film. The CarbonNeutral Company then tells clients how much it will cost to neutralize that carbon, and the company channels their money into new technologies that both reduce carbon and remove the gas from the atmosphere. Among other projects, The CarbonNeutral Company has invested in windmills and hydro-energy plants around the world. It contributes to forestry projects that up the world's supply of trees, which absorb CO2. And it is supporting the switch from diesel to biomass-fueled generators in India.

Prior to the filming of "Sweet Land," The CarbonNeutral Company guided Selim and his crew to some simple, CO2 saving measures like using sunlight instead of generators and film lights as often as possible; carpooling to the set; buying fewer airline tickets by not flying people home on the weekends; and being efficient with the schedule by "shooting out" a location before moving the mini-city of 11 trucks and trailers, 40 cars and 95 cast and crew to the next location.

After the shoot, every mile driven, every airline ticket, every gas receipt, every foot of film processed was calculated and analyzed by The CarbonNeutral Company's scientists in Scotland, who determined that "Sweet Land," still generated 8 tons of CO2.

Then, through The CarbonNeutral Company, Selim invested in windmills in Jamaica and reforestation projects in Germany to offset the CO2, helping to "neutralize" the effects of the making of the film on the environment. "We generated roughly one-third less the amount of CO2 we would have had if we weren't doing it this way," says Selim. "The cast was into it, and they continue to promote the idea. Most notably Tim Guinee who took the few dimes he made on this film and went right out and bought himself a hybrid car."

As he begins his second film, Selim is researching ways to generate even less CO2 than "Sweet Land" did.

One film at a time, the world might just become a cleaner, greener place.

Breathe.