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Close The Divide

Log Line: Close The Divide unveils a gripping journey to bridge the deep divide on climate change, revealing how uniting diverse perspectives can spark innovative solutions to our planet's most pressing challenge.

Close The Divide embarks on a thrilling quest to unravel the complexities of climate change in an era of stark polarization. This documentary confronts the escalating clash between our insatiable hunger for fossil fuels and the pressing need to diminish our environmental footprint. Venturing beyond the confusion of emotions and division, it challenges viewers to confront their own biases, weaving a narrative of hope and determination. As it seeks to bridge the deep divide of perspectives, it calls for a united leap towards understanding and innovating a sustainable future, igniting a spark of change.

  • Thomas Acton
    Director
  • Thomas Acton
    Writer
  • Eric Rose
    Writer
  • Michelle Wong
    Producer
    Pieces of a Dream: A Story of Gambling, Heartland, Wynonna Earp
  • Chris Krieger
    Producer
  • Thomas Acton
    Producer
  • Damilola Ogunbiyi
    Key Cast
  • Chris Turner
    Key Cast
  • Renee Lertzman
    Key Cast
  • Mac Van Wielingen
    Key Cast
  • Jiaying Zhao
    Key Cast
  • Beau Lotto
    Key Cast
  • Tushar Choudhary
    Key Cast
  • Sara Hastings-Simon
    Key Cast
  • Peter Leyden
    Key Cast
  • Bradley Stuckel
    Cinematographer
    JL50
  • Justine Gamez Huckabay
    Marketing/PR
    Heartland, Gravity
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Climate Change, Nature/environmental, Social, Human Interest
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada, United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED 6k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Calgary International Film Festival
    Calgary
    Canada
    September 22, 2023
    Canadian Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • Partner Distribution Ltd.
    Distributor
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Thomas Acton

Tom is a multi-time award winning Director and Producer (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 AMPIA Rosies, Alberta Film and Television Awards) and an emerging Canadian talent. Tom has a deep passion for connecting people through film.

With a B.A. of Psychology and experience traveling the world for projects, he has a keen interest in the human condition and strives to create intense emotional impacts in his viewers. His experience interacting with subjects from developing and impoverished nations to affluent areas, provides a broad outlook on our world’s issues.

In such a polarized world, Tom’s films bring a much needed reality check, inspiring hope and unity in his viewers.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I am very interested in the current climate discourse, right vs left, young vs old and why it is seemingly fostering both a catastrophic future view for our planet, and also an increase in polarization. However the more I read on the subject, there seems to be incredible progress starting throughout the world and we seem to be blinded to these potential advancements by our biases.

Additionally, I have been continually puzzled by the growing amount of confirmation bias and tribalism in society. Today it seems people expect simple, black and white answers. Answers often found with a quick “Google.” Our planet’s future and all living creatures on earth cannot be defined with a simple right or wrong answer; we must contextualize the solutions. Our world has, is, and always will be complex and uncertain. I believe that this ever-growing debate creates an illusion of control in some sense. Opinion seems to become fact. People tend to justify their own opinion and operate with blinders to contradictory information. This mindset, I believe, is an incredibly important part of this debate surrounding the climate crisis.

Here is the big question: How do we unlock action on climate change? I think it starts with us, perspective and being able to understand and communicate with your perceived enemy.