An assortment of American climate-change activists, from teenagers to septuagenarians, are tracked over several months as they protest, get arrested and face charges in court. All the while, each of them must try to reconcile the demands of family life with their commitment to saving the planet. And each is so passionate about activism that personal relationships certainly do suffer.

For example, Bill Moyer, a resident of Washington state, spends most of his time leading a campaign against fossil fuel use that involves demonstrations with kayaks – “kayaktivism” – and draping colourful banners from bridges. His teenage daughter says that she admires what her dad does but she also resents it when he’s not there for her birthday party. It becomes clear he’s missed a lot of father-daughter bonding, and making pancakes for breakfast every day for a year will only get so far in repairing the damage.

Similarly, Abby Brockway, another protester parent who blocks the path of a train ferrying oil, says she would prefer to go to prison rather than get let off with community service because it would attract more attention. This is news to her husband when she announces it on camera, and he doesn’t seem pleased.

There is no doubting the sincerity of these activists or the rightness of the cause they are fighting for, even though on a more granular level each is challenging a specific iniquity, such as fracking or pipelines. Is it a problem if some of them seem insufferably earnest, self righteous and annoying? It doesn’t help that director Joe Gantz seems determined to serve up these stories with lashings of soppy, emotive music and corny montages. But if the human interest angle prompts more sympathy for climate activists, surely that’s a good thing.

• The Race to Save the World is released on 22 April on digital platforms.