2015 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Louie Psihoyos’ Racing Extinction

Formerly going by the title of “The Heist” and “6”, Racing Extinction appears to be a more elaborate, all-encompassing unofficial sequel to Louie Psihoyos’ breakout, Oscar golden and Sundance audience winning, The Cove. By the looks of the lavishly cut trailer below, this well polished packaged dual issue docu combines Mission Impossible theatrics with a clear environmental, and perhaps ethical debate. Looking primed for a full out 2015 campaign, this would play well as a festival opener.

Gist: Scientists predict we may lose half the species on the planet by the end of the century. They believe we have entered the sixth major extinction event in Earth’s history. Number five took out the dinosaurs. This era is called the Anthropocene, or “Age of Man,” because the evidence shows that humanity has sparked this catastrophic loss. We are the only ones who can stop it as well. An unlikely team of activists is out to expose the two worlds endangering species across the globe. The first threat to the wild comes from the international trade of wildlife. Bogus markets are being created at the expense of creatures who have survived on this planet for millions of years. The other threat is all around us, hiding in plain sight. There’s a hidden world that the oil and gas companies don’t want the rest of us to see.

Production Co./Producers: Olivia Ahnemann & Insurgent Media’s Fisher Stevens

Prediction: Out-of-competition Documentary Premieres.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Cinetic Media (domestic). TBD (international)

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