Heart of Hull
Hull is a small coastal town, and the closest settlement to Boston Light, the last manned lighthouse in New England. It is also an urban peninsula that is slowly becoming an island. At the front lines against climate change and financial collapse, this community of 10,000 struggles to unite and plan for survival. Amidst a deepening economic downturn, critical state support is being withdrawn, challenging the survival of the library, school programs, fire and police, and other basic services. It becomes increasingly easy to imagine the ultimate threat that the rising sea present to personal property, basic town utilities and infrastructure, even the very way of life.
Two wind turbines stand as beacons of hope, a legacy of ordinary volunteers who dared to dream, to plan, and to persist in the face of conflicting interest. Will the current generation of leaders be able to develop consensus around increasingly urgent priorities? New leaders emerge, urging more progress and less debate. Will the new ways be embraced or rejected? Is it possible to bring a community together for even greater collaboration, rekindling the strengths of the past?
This real-world documentary provides an unprecedented glimpse into the possible future faced by coastal communities around the world. It tells the true story of human crisis and opportunity unfolding in Hull, Massachusetts, where leaders are striving to embrace their situation and develop a local economy based on leadership in wind energy, along with nascent plans for ecotourism, sustainability, and green policy. Daring to lead in competencies still under development, they are forced to confront climatic uncertainties, the limits of rational analysis, and their own weaknesses. The ultimate threat and the way out become two sides of the same coin.
Like the movie What the Bleep Do We Know Anyway? , Hull Island paints poignant human stories over thought-provoking interviews and highly-informative narrative. Real and fictional characters deliver powerful examinations of universal human conditions: fear and triumph, old values and new priorities, isolation and community, self-doubt and self-actualization, new realizations and courageous actions. The dreams of children resonate with the longings of elders, singing hope not only of survival but also of a more vibrant sense of community and purpose.
The community feels the camera, and is influenced by being observed. The viewer reactions go beyond empathy to a deeply visceral doppelganger. Using the latest in interactive web technologies, the film and its process (both the making and the follow-up dialogue) play a critical role in Hull’s real-world progress, proving once again that art leads innovation. Hull Island is a film that will move people and communities around the globe into heightened awareness, deeper dialogue, and greater resolve around the cries and opportunities of our time…
Two wind turbines stand as beacons of hope, a legacy of ordinary volunteers who dared to dream, to plan, and to persist in the face of conflicting interest. Will the current generation of leaders be able to develop consensus around increasingly urgent priorities? New leaders emerge, urging more progress and less debate. Will the new ways be embraced or rejected? Is it possible to bring a community together for even greater collaboration, rekindling the strengths of the past?
This real-world documentary provides an unprecedented glimpse into the possible future faced by coastal communities around the world. It tells the true story of human crisis and opportunity unfolding in Hull, Massachusetts, where leaders are striving to embrace their situation and develop a local economy based on leadership in wind energy, along with nascent plans for ecotourism, sustainability, and green policy. Daring to lead in competencies still under development, they are forced to confront climatic uncertainties, the limits of rational analysis, and their own weaknesses. The ultimate threat and the way out become two sides of the same coin.
Like the movie What the Bleep Do We Know Anyway? , Hull Island paints poignant human stories over thought-provoking interviews and highly-informative narrative. Real and fictional characters deliver powerful examinations of universal human conditions: fear and triumph, old values and new priorities, isolation and community, self-doubt and self-actualization, new realizations and courageous actions. The dreams of children resonate with the longings of elders, singing hope not only of survival but also of a more vibrant sense of community and purpose.
The community feels the camera, and is influenced by being observed. The viewer reactions go beyond empathy to a deeply visceral doppelganger. Using the latest in interactive web technologies, the film and its process (both the making and the follow-up dialogue) play a critical role in Hull’s real-world progress, proving once again that art leads innovation. Hull Island is a film that will move people and communities around the globe into heightened awareness, deeper dialogue, and greater resolve around the cries and opportunities of our time…
