GASLIT documentary featuring Jane Fonda exposes toxic impacts of US fracking boom

GASLIT is a new documentary featuring Academy Award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda and produced by Greenpeace USA. It’ll have its UK premiere at Raindance Film Festival in London on 24 June.

In GASLIT, Fonda embarks on a road trip through Texas oil and gas fields and Gulf Coast communities, meeting the people on the frontlines of the US fossil fuel boom.

The film offers an intimate and urgent portrait of shrimpers, cattle ranchers, former oil workers, families, faith leaders and self-described “reluctant activists” who are standing up to the devastating health impacts and climate vandalism caused by this new industry.

Since 2023, the US has become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Most of this comes from fracking. Recent conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, combined with president Trump’s trade wars, have deepened the world’s dependency on US LNG. The UK and other European countries are now major importers.

Jane Fonda, actor and activist, said:

This boom isn’t just about oil and gas – it’s about injustice, pollution, and the destruction of entire communities.

GASLIT is about amplifying the voices of everyday Americans who are too often ignored. They know what it means to confront power that is seemingly insurmountable, even when you have everything to lose.

GASLIT heads to the Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast of the US is the epicentre of the LNG boom. New export terminals are popping up from the Mississippi to the Rio Grande. Direct air pollution from these operations is linked to cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular illness and is estimated to cause 60 premature deaths a year. But this could soar to over 4,400 deaths a year by 2050 if all planned projects are built.

The process of turning fracked methane into a liquid for transportation is very carbon intensive. It involves chilling the gas to minus 162°C and keeping it in this super-chilled state in specialised tankers for the entire voyage. The entire process also releases huge amounts of methane – a greenhouse gas that’s over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace UK said:

We and many others fought for a fracking ban in the UK, and for good reason. But communities across the US are living with the toxic impacts of this industry, yet we rarely hear their voices. This powerful documentary redresses that imbalance.

If the recent conflict in the Middle East has taught us anything, it’s that we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground and switch to renewable energy – for the sake of our health, jobs and energy security.

At a time when Europe is increasing its dependence on US fracked gas, GASLIT exposes the human and environmental costs behind this growing dependency in all its brutality.

Katie Camosy, director of GASLIT said:

Now more than ever, we need the world to hear directly from those experiencing the climate crisis firsthand. GASLIT is a visual representation of the movement and the people fighting tooth and nail for their lives every day.

We’re deeply grateful to the communities in the Gulf South for their leadership – and we hope that people leave the cinema feeling both outraged and inspired by their stories.

You can watch the trailer for GASLIT here.

Get tickets for GASLIT, screening at Raindance Film Festival on the following dates:

Wed, 24 June, 7.00pm @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 5. Followed by a panel with:

• Director, Katie Camosy.
• Co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, Areeba Hamid.
• Transatlantic Anti-LNG Network Coordinator and Film Subject, Andy Gheorghiu.

Thu, 25 Jun, 10.30am @ Vue Piccadilly – Screen 4. ‘Impact screening’ followed by a panel featuring:

• Director, Katie Camosy.
• Head of politics at Greenpeace UK, Ami McCarthy.
• Andy Gheorghiu of the Transatlantic Anti-LNG Network.

Featured image via YouTube / Greenpeace USA