As Parkinson’s disease advances, pioneering biologist Joanne Chory races to re-engineer plants and help save the planet.
Plant Life follows Chory at a pivotal moment. Having revolutionized plant biology once already, she and her team set out to develop crops with deeper, carbon-rich roots—an ambitious effort to draw down atmospheric CO₂ and store it underground. The film is both an intimate portrait and a scientific race against time.
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For decades, she asked how plants grow. Then she asked what they might do for the planet.
At the Salk Institute, Chory’s research transformed our understanding of how plants sense light and develop. After a Parkinson’s diagnosis, she turned her work toward the climate crisis, bringing scientists together to pursue plants capable of storing more carbon in their roots.
Her discoveries and the scientists she has mentored are part of a bold idea: plant biology can help shape a more sustainable future.
Brett Marty is a commercial and documentary director whose work has been commissioned or featured by Patagonia, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. His narrative directorial debut, Youth, played at more than 30 festivals.
Josh Izenberg is an Oakland-based documentary filmmaker. His short Slomo won awards at SXSW and from the International Documentary Association; Resurface won a Tribeca jury prize, was acquired by Netflix, and was nominated for an Emmy.
For interviews, screening inquiries, a press screener, or additional materials, reach the filmmakers at:
plantlife@speculativefilms.comMusic by Amanda Jones · Cinematography by Phil Briggs · Edited by Aldona Watts
