silverdocs

Friday, June 9----Fresh off his tour of the Croisette at the Cannes Film Festival with his film AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, former Vice President (and current media darling) Al Gore will delivery the Keynote Address at the SILVERDOCS Documentary Film Conference on Thursday, June 15.

Gore's film, directed by Davis Guggenheim, a wake-up call on the effects of global warming, has been a media sensation since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and reached a fever pitch when Gore walked the red carpet in Cannes. The film has recently opened in the United States to rave reviews and enormous audience response. While it may not reach the heights of Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 911 in terms of box office, the film's visibility is creating momentum for a possible Gore entry into the Presidential race in 2008 (something he has denied being interested in, but which becomes a distinct possibility).

From his early work as an advocate for development of the internet to the creation of Current TV, a television production company committed to producing films of social and political importance, Gore has been a visionary in promoting technology as a tool to advance civil discussion and give a voice to individual citizens, including those outside the political mainstream.

His concentration on the effects of global warming (which the current Bush administration dismissed as an "unproven theory") has led to speculation of the creation of a Green Party in the US, in a similar fashion to political developments in Europe in the past decade.

Gore will address these and other issues, including the role of documentary film to educate the public and even form political policy at the session. It is certain to be a speech of national importance and a coup for the SILVERDOCS Documentary Film Festival.

Sandy Mandelberger
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA RESOURCES