A year ago, then-Dallas Mayor Laura Miller was in the midst of that contentious battle with TXU over its plan to build at least 11 new coal-fired power plants throughout the state. Now, she's among the stars of a documentary about that fight, Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars. The 30-minute film -- which is being expanded into a feature-length offering -- makes its Texas bow next week: in Waco on January 10 (at Hippodrome Performing Arts Center), and in Dallas the following night, from 7-9 p.m., at the Angelika Film Center in Mockingbird Station. Following the screening will be a panel discussion featuring "local policymakers, business leaders, ranchers, and lawyers, many of whom appear in the film," says a media release.
And this is no small-timer's one-off: Fighting Goliath was produced by Alpheus Media in conjunction with Robert Redford's Sundance Preserve, and Redford narrates the film that "centers on the leadership of 17 Texas mayors and the unlikely partners who have come together to oppose the coal plants, setting a national example and changing public policy throughout the state," according to the media release. Tickets are available absolutely gratis: Doors open at 6:30, and it's first-come, first-served. Says executive producer Jill Tidman in an e-mail to Unfair Park, "Seating is limited, though, so I'm telling people the earlier they can get there the better, especially for the Dallas event." Pretty sure at least one former mayor will be there. --Robert Wilonsky