"Moving, lucid and aptly told, Oil On Ice is quite simply the best documentary to date on the [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge] issue." – Art Goodtimes, The Telluride Watch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2004
OIL ON ICE DOCUMENTARY AND WEBDVD
PRODUCTION COMPLETE

WOODSIDE, CALIF. – Filmmakers Dale Djerassi and Bo Boudart, in association with Lobitos Creek Ranch (www.lobitoscreekranch.com), have completed production of OIL ON ICE (www.oilonice.org), a multi-faceted media project about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the controversy over drilling for oil there. An effort to inform viewers about the connections between oil, the environment and America’s energy future, OIL ON ICE includes a one-hour documentary film, four-minute exhibition video, WebDVD and Website.

The documentary film premiered at MOUNTAINFILM in Telluride, Colo. on May 30, 2004 and will screen at other film festivals and private venues across the country throughout the year. A four-minute exhibition version of OIL ON ICE is also on tour. It premiered at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco where it played continuously during their exhibition of Subhankar Banarjee’s photographs of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The WebDVD will include bonus interviews with Amory Lovins and the Sierra Club’s Executive Director Carl Pope, and a Grassroots action toolkit for concerned citizens and organizations. The WebDVD will be distributed and available for purchase in September 2004. Details on how to purchase the WebDVD can be found on the Website at www.oilonice.org.

In production for more than three years, OIL ON ICE examines the issues of global climate change, indigenous people’s rights, vehicle fuel efficiency standards, wildlife protection and renewable energy sources. The film features the views of experts on these topics including Carl Pope, executive director, Sierra Club; Amory Lovins, chief executive officer, Rocky Mountain Institute; Severen Borenstein, Energy Institute, University of California at Berkeley; and Bill Weber, director of North America programs, Wildlife Conservation Society. Native Gwich’in Indians and Eskimos are followed throughout the film as they take their case to Washington D.C. and the American public. The positions of President George W. Bush and presidential hopeful John Kerry, as well as other politicians, are also featured.

Film production is based on footage from numerous sources in formats including 35mm, 16mm, Betacam, DV and inch archival footage. More than 100 hours of material was acquired for the final film and WebDVD. The footage was assembled using multiple Final Cut Pro workstations at Lobitos Creek Ranch in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

OIL ON ICE was made possible by Dale Djerassi and Bo Boudart, co-directors and producers; Steve Michelson, executive producer; Stephen Most, writer; Rhonda Collins, editor; William Sussman, composer; Phil Perkins, sound design; Tim O’Conner Fraser, Web and DVD production manager; Dan Newitt, on-line editing and graphic design; and Gary and Jenice Burden, album cover and packaging design. Music recording with famed cellist Joan Jenrenaud took place at Fantasy Studios with chief engineer Stephen Hart.

ABOUT OIL ON ICE
OIL ON ICE (www.oilonice.org) is a multi-faceted media project about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and the conflict over drilling for oil there. The one-hour documentary film, WebDVD and Website examine the battle over one of America’s last great wild places, which is currently at the center of a national energy debate. OIL ON ICE shows how the fate of the refuge is inextricably linked to decisions our nation makes about energy policy, transportation choices, and other seemingly unrelated matters. And as the film concludes, the culture and livelihood of the native Gwich’in Indians and the survival of migratory wildlife are caught in the balance.