Sweet Land is a recent movie production that has the unique distinction of being “carbon-neutral“.

This means that all of the carbon dioxide emitted by the filmmaking process — lights, cameras, transportation — was totaled up and offset by comparable investments in renewable energy. Carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

“For me, it’s less of a political statement about global warming, and more just, there’s got to be a nicer, cleaner way to do this,” said film director and writer Ali Selim in an interview before the movie’s Washington opening on Friday.