State of Affairs

Merchants of Doubt

Robert Kenner
Screening time  
23.02. / Monday, 22:00 - 00:00 Theatre 2  
Spin doctors reveal how to shake off responsibility for climate changes.

The evidence of man’s role in climate change is overwhelming; despite that, there are many alleged scientific experts, ubiquitous presences in the mass media universe, who have managed to confound and confuse the issue. In their 2011 book Merchants of Doubt, authors Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway uncovered the agendas behind these ideological sales pitches. Now filmmaker Robert Kenner explores this issue further through interviews with some of the best of these scientific spin doctors, some of whom let us in on their secrets. Kenner likens their public relations and marketing skills to magic, and he puts their many appearances before congressional committees and on CNN in an entirely fresh light. Kenner’s take on these “magicians” at work is funny and witty, but it’s also chilling to witness their sleight of hand, which has helped to land us that much further from saving the planet.

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Robert Kenner

Robert Kenner was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has directed several documentaries for television including The Lost Fleet of Guadalcanal (1993) and America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Goodbye (1998) for National Geographic, and Russia's Last Tsar (1994). His debut feature documentary is Food, Inc. (2008).
Merchants of Doubt (2014) is his latest film.

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Merchants of Doubt

USA
2014, 96'

Directed by:
Robert Kenner

Screenplay by:
Robert Kenner, Kim Roberts

Cinematography:
Barry Berona, Don Lenzer, Jay Redmond

Edited by:
Kim Roberts

Music:
Mark Adler

Producers:
Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo

Produced by:
Participant Media

Festivals & Awards:

Toronto International Film Festival 2014; CPH:DOX 2014; New York Film Festival 2014; Telluride Film Festival 2014