Before Christine Hallquist was running for Governor of Vermont, she was David Hallquist, the CEO of the largest locally owned electric utility in Vermont. A self-described “closet environmentalist,” Hallquist is dedicated to addressing the way electricity use in America contributes to climate change. In this 2017 film directed by his son, Hallquist as CEO works to balance climate change with the utility’s charge to provide affordable and reliable service. As Hallquist struggles to build a transparent company whose honest approach can get stakeholders to accept the realities of how we generate and deliver electricity, he realizes he must apply that same transparency to his personal life and reveals to his son a lifelong secret. Dave Hallquist, who presents as a chainsaw-wielding, hard-hat-wearing CEO in a male-dominated industry is a woman inside.
“Stunningly well-made. Denial is that rare documentary that actually shows us change. People and understandings, as well as climate and sexuality, are represented as fluid – messy and disruptive, but life-giving. This is an eco-film where science and technology, personal and political conflict, humility, love, and aesthetic virtuosity forge unexpected and beautiful alliances.”
Marguerite Waller, Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of California, Riverside
“Denial compellingly merges our country’s refusal to accept the truth of gender’s complexity with our denial about climate change and a failed energy system…The themes of transparency, honesty, compromise, and complexity in relation to gender identity/expression and climate change render this film a perfect fit for courses in environmental justice, women’s and gender studies, queer theory, and environmental studies.
Dr. Katie Hogan, Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, Professor of English, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
There is no charge for viewing the film. Donations are welcome (click DONATE on the left-hand menu or text UUAVL to 73256).
Send a request for the Zoom link to Charlie Wussow at mnpopi@icloud.com by Wednesday, September 8th. There will be a discussion after the screening of the film. Runtime: 92 minutes