‘Climate and Activism’ Film Night

Heriot’s pupil, Lucy Anderson participated in a video conference showcasing and discussing environmental films. Lucy’s report can be seen below.

On Sunday 14th June, a video call was held to showcase some environmental films and discuss them. The call was hosted by two teenage girls who were part of the Scottish Youth Climate Strike (SYCS) in partnership with Highland One World. Both hosts were very enthusiastic about environmental issues and this greatly contributed to the tone of the evening.

The films themselves were very informative and moving. The first was called ‘Love Song’ and featured a host of famous faces reminding us of how precious our planet is. Other films followed such as ‘Out of the Bag’, about making art of out plastic and ‘Seed Saver’ about protecting and enhancing our seed and soil diversity, but particular standouts for me included one called ‘Chiloé Coming Afloat’, the UN Summit Poem ‘Dear Matafele Peinem’ and finally ‘Nature is Speaking: Mother Nature’.

A line that really stuck out for me from ‘Chiloé Coming Afloat’ was ‘we took all for today and kept none for tomorrow.’ The film itself is about a place called Chiloé that was full of biodiversity and various marine species but due to lack of regulation has been over-exploited and their resources are dwindling. However, the film discusses the hope residents have for the new sustainable practices that are being put in place that could restore their home to its former wonder. After watching the film we discussed how we could draw comparisons between many different global cultures across the world. In particular, we were able to look closer to home at salmon farming and scallop diving in Scotland.

‘Nature is Speaking: Mother Nature’ is narrated by Julia Roberts, which helped to give it a higher profile globally. Its main idea is that nature does not need humans, but humans need nature. Nature pre-exists us by billions of years and will most likely exist for many years more than humans in the future. But the main thing that enables nature to exist for so long is its ability to adapt, something humans are not doing successfully enough in order to tackle the climate crisis. This was a great film highlighting the changes that humans need to make in order to continue to enjoy the world we live in. I have included a link below for this film.

Without a doubt ‘Dear Matafele Peinem’ was my favourite. It is charged with hope and emotion and leaves you thinking about the significant impacts of Climate Change. I think part of its effectiveness was the fact that it is addressed to an infant. It subtly reminds us that the ramifications of Climate Change are creating a lasting legacy for a generation that do not even understand the problem yet. It is set, and the poem was written by someone from, the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are looking towards a future where they will all be forced to become climate refugees as their islands are expected to be under water within years. There are already having to deal with the severely detrimental effects of sea level rise. In the discussion we had following the video we spoke about how no child should ever have to worry about not having a home or it being under water before they are an adult. This was a highly emotive and thought-provoking film and I would definitely recommend watching it if you get the opportunity. I have included a link below.

I really enjoyed linking up with other young people around Scotland who are interested in the climate emergency and hear different thoughts. I had not seen any of the films before and I really enjoyed watching them.

Nature Is Speaking

UN Climate Summit Poem "Dear Matafele Peinem"