Austin filmmaker Michelle Voss isn’t looking to acquire fame and fortune from her new documentary on wind power, which premieres May 17 in Austin. Not that she would mind sitting on a little nest egg while seeing her name up in lights, but Voss’ primary goal is to change the way people think about electricity.
In making Velocity: Exploring Sustainability Through Wind Power, Voss set out to present an argument for replacing costly, smelly coal-generated power plants with wind-powered energy programs. Wind, after all, is free. “I’ve probably always had an interest in more secure energy systems for the United States,” says Voss, who directed, wrote, and produced the film.
She hopes the documentary will spark the same interest in audience members, too. “Locally, I hope more Austin residents sign up for Green Choice [Austin Energy’s renewable energy program]. And on a more grand and national scale — if I can delude myself here,” she says, laughing — “I hope the film will help influence national policy.” Voss says she would like to see a television distributor pick up the film, but that copies of the hourlong video will also be available in libraries and schools.
The 24-year-old filmmaker and UT graduate took on the project at the request of Cielo Wind Power, a former employer, which provided more than half of the $180,000 to film the documentary. The two-year effort took her and a local crew of six to wind-power farms in West Texas and Denmark, which produces half of the world’s turbines and draws 20% of its electricity from wind power. “Wind turbines are incredibly photogenic,” says Voss, who also relied on the creative visual talent of photography director Vance Holms and editor and motion-graphics artist David Hobizal, both of Austin.
Appropriately, Velocity will make its screening debut the day before the start of a weeklong conference of the American Wind Energy Association at the Austin Convention Center. Texas ranks as the second largest producer of wind-generated electricity in the U.S., and Austin Energy’s renewable energy sources include 61 wind turbines in three locations across the state.
Velocity screens at 3pm, Saturday, May 17, at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown. Tickets can be purchased online at www.drafthouse.com for $7 or at the door for $8.
This article appears in May 16 • 2003.
