Films to kick-off 2021, recommended by sustainability experts
With 2020 behind us, but the pandemic still very present, starting fresh in 2021 means making the effort to activate new ideas and learn from the experts, still from the comfort of your home. At the end of last year we recommended books, so to kick off this year, we will recommend some of our favorite films about sustainability, to help keep us focused on how we can all contribute to a better world.
ON SOIL, CARBON AND THE CLIMATE
Recommended by: Carolina de Azevedo, Business Development
FILM: Kiss the Ground
Kiss the Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can rapidly stabilize the Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle.
ON WIND, BIODIVERSITY AND PREVENTING CATASTROPHY
Recommended by: David Mazaira, Carbon Impact Specialist
Would you like to see how financial inclusion links to renewable energy and the impacts of man driven climate change? This film reveals how, against all odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and his village from famine.
This film shows the rapid decay of biodiversity within the lifespan of one human. It triggers one to realize the fact that we are suffering the consequences of climate change ourselves, right now. It is easy to think that climate change will affect someone in the future, but look at it this way: 2050 is now as close as 1990.
FILM: Before the Flood
Presented by National Geographic, Leonardo DiCaprio travels to five continents and the Arctic, representing the United Nations, to witness climate change first-hand. He goes on expeditions with scientists uncovering the reality of climate change and meets with political leaders fighting against inaction. He also discovers a calculated disinformation campaign orchestrated by powerful special interests working to confuse the public about the urgency of the growing climate crisis.
ON BEES AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Recommended by: Harriet Jackson, Fund Strategy & Planning Officer
FILM: Honeyland
A beautiful documentary about one of the last keepers of wild bees in the Balkan mountains, Hatidze Muratov. Hatidze harvests honey with the mantra ‘half for us, half for the bees’, to ensure a sustainable honey supply. A new neighbour, under pressure from a buyer and out of necessity to feed his large family, ignores this advice and his starving bees attack Hatidze’s bees, causing both colonies to collapse. An insight into both sustainable agriculture, strained neighbourly relations and the economic pressures that drive short-term decisions.
ON FIGHTING FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING
Recommended by: Jessica Malms, Marketing & Visualization Analyst
FILM: The Biggest Little Farm
A city dwelling couple makes a radical decision to follow their dream of owning a farm, so they pack their belongings and buy an abandoned 200-acre farm in California, only to find out that the soil is arid and dead. They spend the next decade reviving the land using sustainable farming methods to create a balanced eco-system that provides a harmonic, bio-diverse habitat and produces organic, nutrient dense foods. It’s a personal journey of hope, struggle, and determination.
ON SOLUTIONS FOR A GREEN FUTURE
Recommended by: Marie-Anna Benard, Technical Assistance Officer
FILM: Tomorrow
This French documentary focuses on concrete, alternative solutions, showing how each and every one of us can play a critical role in designing the world of tomorrow and ensuring a healthy, equal, and green future for all. It’s also inspiring and a breath of fresh air, something we need more than ever these days.
ON LIVING YOUR VALUES AND FREE WILL
Recommended by: Stacy Fiehler, Head of Marketing & Communications
FILM: The Social Dilemma
Justin Rosenstein, A former Facebook Engineer, describes what this film is about the best: “Our attention can be mined. We are more profitable to a corporation if we're spending time staring at a screen, staring at an ad, than if we're spending that time living our life in a rich way. And so, we're seeing the results of that. We're seeing corporations using powerful artificial intelligence to outsmart us and figure out how to pull our attention toward the things they want us to look at, rather than the things that are most consistent with our goals and our values and our lives.”
BONUS: It’s not a film, per se, but Samuel Baumgartner, the host of many of our webinars, recommends the Netflix series “Rotten”. It focuses on how broken our food supply chain is by looking at bottled water, avocados, wine, cacao and more. Samuel says, “I especially recommend the “Troubled Water” episode and ‘The Avocado War’ episode. Even though I like avocado, I will not be consuming them anymore after watching that.”