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Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars

Narrated by Robert Redford. A film by Mat Hames and George Sledge

Get Involved

“The movie Fighting Goliath has inspired me to take a more active role as a volunteer on the campaign to stop more coal plants from being built here in Arkansas. I am positive it will inspire others to do so as well.”

— Julie dePreux
Little Rock, AR

Host a Screening

A screening of Fighting Goliath can 1) help raise awareness about a proposed or active coal plant in your area 2) get people of all ages engaged and organized and 3) inspire and re-energize those who are already involved in opposing a coal plant.

Take a minute to fill out the event assessment below and read through the list of screening ideas to help determine the best program structure to meet your goals. Additionally, at the bottom of this page is a list of media and PR resources available to support you in hosting a successful event.

Once you’ve held your screening, send us photos and a brief paragraph about 1) your community’s challenge and 2) how the film screening helped your efforts. We’ll post it on the Fighting Goliath blog and inspire others to get involved in protecting public health and the environment.

Event Assessment

As with any event plan, it is important to get clear on the event goal(s), target your audience, assess the resources available to you, and consider timing and location. The list below is designed to help you get started building your plan. If you have any trouble with filling out this list, feel free to contact The Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve for help.

  • Goal (i.e. educate, organize, inspire, shut down a coal plant!)
  • Coal Plant Threat (make sure someone at the event can answer questions and speak about the nearest coal plant(s) threatening your community)
  • Audience Make-up (who do you need in the room to achieve your goal(s)?)
  • PR / Media (how are you going to attract your target audience?)
  • Venue (consider capacity, location and ease of access for your target audience)
  • Timing (if possible, consider timing your event to coincide with a public meeting, hearing, appeal, protest, or event related to the coal plant proposal)
  • MC / Speaker(s) / Panelists (depends on your screening format )
  • Host(s) (make sure your event host appeals to your target audience, i.e. ask a local opinion leader, politician, or a well-respected group to host or co-host the event)

Screening Ideas

Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars is a 34-minute documentary film that was made with the intention of raising awareness, inspiring action, and creating meaningful dialogue about how to overcome one of the greatest threats to public health and contributors to global warming—conventional coal-fired power plants—and how to find the cleanest, safest solutions to our global energy challenge. Below are some ideas of how and where to screen the film, given its length and its intention.

  • Show the film in a movie theater followed by a briefing about the local coal plant situation and/or a discussion panel (fill the panel with local leaders and experts on the issue, use local journalists as panel moderators)
  • Have your mayor host a film screening event at city hall or a community center (the film highlights and celebrates the leadership of forward thinking mayors)
  • Project the film on the side of a building in a high traffic public square or park and loop it for several hours (this will get the film in front of people who would never come to a screening or even hear about a screening of this type of film)
  • Project the film on a mobile screen in a centrally located park and make it a free, community event (same outcome as the idea above)
  • Screen the film at house party for local people who want to get organized
  • Show the film as a special presentation before, after, or during a city council meeting or a rotary club meeting
  • Screen the film at a temple or church as part of an adult education program

Resources

Use the resources below to support your screening of Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars!