The Movie

US Senate Candidate Jesse Johnson Calls for an End to MTR at the Appalachia Rising Rally in Washington, D.C.

It takes a particular mix of idealism, guts and ego to run for office – and four “Seriously Green” candidates are battling in some of the nation’s top environmental hotspots.  What happens when political activists who have operated outside the system decide to put their values to the test, as a candidate? Can these competitors hold on to their convictions as they take on politicians flush with corporate dollars who are firmly established in the media spotlight?

“Seriously Green” follows these unlikely politicians as they set their sites on City Hall, the Governor’s mansion, Congress and even the White House because they see their candidacies not as the alternative but the imperative. Between the fading promise of “hope and change” and the acrimonious cries of Tea Party rallies featured on Fox, environmental issues and their champions face an uphill battle to get on the ballot and be taken seriously. Unsupported by typical campaign trappings, like paid staff, an office and corporate fund-raisers, these couch surfing campaigners sacrifice everything to enter the electoral arena because they feel the planet depends on their actions.

This green-themed odyssey takes viewers deep into West Virginia coal country, to the Louisiana swamps and the wreckage of the Lower 9th Ward, to wrangling for ballot access in the Lone Star State and into the crusade for energy independence in California.

Progressive leaders Van Jones and Thomas Linzey, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Ralph Nader, Ed Schultz and Amy Goodman offer perspectives on the idealistic goals of hardcore progressives and the political roadblocks they face. Rich with greenwash irony and interlaced with regional music, from bluegrass to hip-hop, the documentary highlights how money, media, ballot access and party politics impact campaigns and postpone the greening of America.