Windfall

The wind turbine has become a symbol of hope. The sleek white spokes spinning against the sky promise a future free of fossil fuels and the importation of foreign oil. Who could object to wind energy? That’s what the residents of Meredith, New York thought when turbine salesmen came knocking on their doors. With local dairy farms in decline, the economy needed a boost. Similar scenarios are now playing out all over North America as energy companies grow more bullish on wind. If you think this transition should be a breeze, Windfall offers a surprising reality check.

The town’s population consists of longstanding farmers living alongside recent escapees from city life. Reactions to windmills tend to split between large property owners eager to capitalize and smaller owners who see potential dangers. It’s one thing to support clean energy; it’s another to contemplate living under a four-hundred-foot tower with blades weighing seven tons each and spinning at one hundred and fifty miles per hour. Then there’s the noise, not to mention the giant flickering shadows. Windfall follows the debate with interviews from both sides, capturing all the humour and rancour of small-town politics.

Making her directorial debut after years of experience as a film editor – most notably with such individualists as Robert Frank (True Story) and John Lurie (Fishing with John) – Laura Israel brings her own distinctive approach to Windfall, paying careful attention to visual detail and sound design. Working with art director Alex Bingham and DP Brian Jackson, she brings freshness and vitality to the much debated topic of renewable energy.