UNITY COLLEGE IN FILM'S FOCUS 'A Road Not Taken' consider's importance of alternative-energy, White House solar panels that ended up in central Maine

BY SARA BREAU

07/10/2008

UNITY -- The focus is local this week as the Maine International Film Festival presents the first viewing of "A Road Not Taken," a documentary tied to the Unity College community, where portions of the film were shot.
The film, about the importance of alternative-energy resources, revolves around the placement of solar panels on the roof of the West Wing of the White House in 1979, at then-President Jimmy Carter's request.

Carter had the panels installed at the White House to draw attention to the serious energy issues the country had been experiencing.

"We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources," Carter said in 1979. "By acting now, we can control our future instead of letting the future control us."

During the Reagan presidency, in 1986, the panels were taken down to accommodate roof repair and never restored to their original place at the White House.

But that wasn't the end of the panels.

At the urging of Peter Marbach, the former director of advancement at Unity College, the college was able to obtain the panels at no cost from a government warehouse in Virginia. Several of the panels in 1991 were installed atop Unity College's cafeteria and used there until 2005.

"People were interested, they heard about the panels and thought, 'Why is no one using those?' " said Mark Tardif, Unity's associate director of college communications.

Actress Glenn Close, who had a connection to Marbach, at the time helped fund the reburbishing of the panels for Unity's use.

"They haven't been in usable condition since around 2005," said Tardif.

With the country still dependent on oil, alternative energy is still a road not taken by many Americans.

The inspiration for the 60-minute film came when filmmakers in Switzerland read an Associated Press article about the solar panels at Unity in 2005.

"Filmmakers in Switzerland read the article and basically thought that it would be a great film idea," Tardif recalled. Directors Christina Hemaner and Roman Keller filmed their documentary in 2006.

Their film first was called "The Moral Equivalent of War," a title probably sparked by Jimmy Carter's opinion of the energy crisis when he was in office.

The film's screening comes at a time when the U.S. strives to address an ever-growing dependence on oil. It chronicles the efforts of the Unity College community who put forth an effort to be pre-emptive about protection of the environment and the use of alternative energy.

"It's really great that so many Maine-made and nontraditional films that wouldn't otherwise be seen by the community can be shown," said Shannon Haines, director of the Maine International Film Festival. "It's just a great opportunity for members of the community to see something a little bit different."

The documentary's directors will be among Unity's guests at Thursday's pre-party, at which time Hemaner and Keller will screen a trailer of their film. The event, to be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will be held at the college's Centre for the Performing Arts, 42 Depot St., off Route 202.

"A Road Not Taken" will be screened at 12:30 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. July 18 at Railroad Square Cinema, in Waterville. For details, go online to www.miff.org.