Promised Land, a compelling new movie about natural gas fracking and the costs a community must bear, opens nationwide January 4.

Starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski, this must-see is set in a rural Pennsylvania farming community and shows what happens when the natural gas industry and activists clash over fracking leases. The movie focuses on the struggles many rural communities face across the country over short-term profits versus the protection of their land and quality of life.

Unfortunately, the drama portrayed in Promised Land is very real. But unlike the movies, there is usually no Hollywood ending, especially when communities watch their land turn into industrial zones -- and many communities have no rights to prevent that from happening.

Unlike the town in the film, many communities don’t have the right to decide if fracking is right for them. This is why it is important for people all across the country to challenge the unfair power that has been handed to the oil and gas industry. Communities must be allowed to look at all the facts and determine the best path forward. By removing the right to refuse fracking, communities are prevented from turning to solutions such as clean renewable energy, which can grow an economy without harming the environment.

The oil and gas industry has extraordinary power over local control, and this movie puts that issue front and center. Despite what the natural gas industry claims, fracking significantly impacts people’s air and water.

Help spread the word! Here are a few things you can do:

Organize

Watch Promised Land with your friends and family. Buy tickets ahead of time, especially during opening week. Find a theater near you.

Host an after-movie discussion

After watching Promised Land, host a post-viewing discussion at a coffee shop, bar, or your home. Use our handy discussion sheet to guide the conversation. Get more information.

Download the discussion guide (pdf).

Spread the word

If you like the movie, share the trailer on your Facebook page and Twitter feed, and encourage others to go see it.

Pass out information at movie theaters

Organize volunteers to pass out information about fracking at local theaters showing the movie. You can download and print our postcard-sized flyer and call your local Sierra Club chapter office to see if they have "Keep the Frack Out of My Water" stickers for distribution.

Download and print the flyer (pdf).

-- Deb Nardone, Director of Beyond Natural Gas Campaign