There’s quite a few of those Hands Across the Sand events going down on the coast this weekend. And if pressing the flesh with a few thousand strangers is your kind of thing, it stands to reason you might want a few conversation starters about using less oil to lob at your hand-holding neighbors.

And lucky for you, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters has you covered in this department. Tonight, the nonprofit is hosting a benefit at the Bagdad Theater in which you can catch the new documentary Deep Green.

Directed by local boy Matt Biggs, the film, which premiered here in Portland this week, promises not to beat your brows about melting glaciers and rising seas, but rather on presenting a thorough investigation of how we actually might be able to kick our dependence on fossil fuels.

In order to make the film, Biggs spent some six researching alternative energy solutions. And the answers he finds don’t always come from the usual suspects. In China, Biggs discovers subways and high speed trains under construction, not to mention 120 million electric bicycles curbing the need for automobiles. And from the sands of the Sahara Desert we learn about an enormous smart grid that’s being planned to power Europe and North Africa.

Still, despite the we-got-this mentality, Biggs doesn’t sugarcoat anything. In fact, the conclusion he reaches is that if we don’t cut our carbon emissions by 80 percent in the next 10 to 20 years, it’ll be too late to turn the clock back on climate change.

And that’s a thought that, not unlike holding hands with a few thousand strangers, might just produce a few sweaty palms.

Here’s a clip from the film:

Proceeds from tonight’s show go straight to OLCV. Encore screenings are being held tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.