The phrase "climate change" has been accused of being a polite euphemism for the impending catastrophe of global warming. After all, "change" can be good or bad. The concept of change can also imply something bigger than just rising temperatures. A Swedish documentary called "The Planet" –coming to the Wisconsin Film Festival this Thursday and Sunday -- looks beyond global warming to instead address changes happening to the Earth in a more holistic way.

The film was released in 2006 in Sweden and is the result of two years of filming in 25 countries. Three filmmakers (Johan Söderberg, Michael Stenberg, Linus Torrell) interviewed experts around the world for a “hot from the oven attempt to find answers about the truths and untruths of the alarming global changes that many claim are already in motion…the extraordinary visual style and the unexpected content in ‘The Planet’ will unlock the alienated attitude many people have built up in relation to the subject.”

One of the directors, Michael Stenberg, answered a few questions about the documentary via email for dane101 readers.

What is your background as a filmmaker?

I started as a scientific radio and TV journalist. Then I wrote a couple of radio theatre and film scripts which made me more and more interested in film as a media for stories with a scientific base. “The Planet” might be a result of that development.

How does the film differ from Al Gore's documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”? What did you think of that film?

Eight years ago we got interested in a new field of science called “global change.” It's a scientific direction that puts emphasis on viewing the world as a connected whole. “The Planet” is about the Earth as a whole. Al Gore’s film is about climate change. The visual style, the music and the unexpected content in “The Planet” is also different from Gore’s more lecturing style. Al Gore’s film is great and has made a lot to the understanding of the climate crises.

Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about the future of our planet? Why?

The sciences have made a lot of breakthroughs during the last decades, and right now this new knowledge is beginning to get through to the politicians and the public. This new awareness is of great importance. But the most important thing is probably that people all over the world actually experience the changes themselves. You can feel it, you can see it - the hardest thing is to accept it and actually do something. But I'm hopeful.

How did working on the film change your personal attitudes and beliefs about global warming? Did it change the way you lead your daily life?

The more I learned about the global changes that are in motion now, the more worried I got. So, yes, I have changed my lifestyle and way of thinking quite a lot.

Often, media stories here on climate change give equal attention to the believers and the deniers of global warming. Some criticize the media for this, accusing journalists of sacrificing “the truth” in the name of “balance.” What is your take on this?

It's some sort of journalistic spinal reflex to always find a balancing voice. In Sweden the media used to draw out a Danish statistician who argued that we can use money in better ways than to fight climate change.

I’ve read that “The Planet” employs humor and “new rhythms” to avoid the typical gloom and doom that surrounds the topic of climate change. Could you give a few examples?

Yes, we tried that when we started to edit the film but we left the humorous way after a while, so you have to be content with the rhythmical way of editing. Our next film will be more optimistic.

What lessons do you think Americans should take away from this film?

As a leading nation, the USA has to take its global responsibility and include the environmental aspects and costs in its development.

“The Planet” is playing Thursday at 9:15 p.m. and Sunday at 1:45 p.m., both times at the Stage Door Theater in the Orpheum (entrance on East Johnson, around the corner from the Orpheum’s entrance at 216 State Street).