Projects in genres: Climate / Environment

Synopsis

A journey into the historical and tactile entanglements between sheep’s wool, migrant plant seeds and the River Tweed. Official Selection Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2024 - World premiere

Synopsis

Filmmaker Thomas Pickering has never eaten meat. Born in the 1980’s and raised vegetarian, before switching to a vegan diet, Tom’s always believed he’s been doing right by the animals, his own health, and - more recently - the planet. Despite this he still can’t go a day without hearing from others why they could never go vegan. From “where do you get your protein” and “soya is killing the rainforests” to “vegan food is expensive” and “climate change doesn’t exist”, he’s heard it all. With no sign of these arguments against his lifestyle choice going away, Tom sets out on a quest to investigate the many reasons he’s heard over the years, and see if they’re unjustified, or whether his upbringing was one big plant based con. On his journey Tom tracks down several top athletes, witnessing world records, championship successes and an 84-year-old taking part in his sixth ultra-marathon. He speaks to doctors, environmental scientists, psychologists and chefs. He follows investigative journalists and activists as he goes undercover into factory farms, where he learns the A Rating awarded to the UK for its farming practise isn’t what it seems. At the end of it all, Tom tries to piece together this complex picture as he finds a clear link between the way we treat animals, the effect it has on our planet, and our own health.

Synopsis

MIRAGE - EIGENSTATE weaves together analogous investigations into the nature of reality, positioning Western science as just one methodology among many in a constellation of pluralistic worldviews. The film explores different interpretations of reality, from Sufi mysticism and Monorealism to theories of quantum mechanics. Edited in the style of American astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan’s 1980s television show, 'Cosmos', which sought to explain the origin of life and the fourth spatial dimension, MIRAGE - EIGENSTATE references scientific mass communication, where complex concepts are described in straightforward ways, often through images. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2025 - Forum Expanded - International premiere

Synopsis

A short film centered around Naira, a young man trying to find his place in the world. Feeling imprisoned by his surroundings he decides to take matters into his own hands, in an attempt to escape his reality. A moment of magic soon turns into a nightmare, when Naira bumps into two people from the world he is trying to break free from. As people we all move through different space(s) each and every day. SPACE(S) is a film everyone can relate to, highlighting the importance of green spaces, intergenerational connection, role models and not letting anything stop you from being you. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2024

Synopsis

14 Women, 3000 Nautical Miles, X Trillion Pieces of Plastic. X TRILLION is a film about an all-woman crew who sailed 3000 nautical miles to one of the most remote places on Earth - the North Pacific Gyre or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The aim was to research the densest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. It was a journey that promised to change not only their lives but the very future of our planet. Director Eleanor Church was part of a team of 14 women from around the world - from scientists to packaging designers, engineers, teachers, artists and more - each one looking and learning about this issue from a very different perspective. This was eXXpedition's 10th voyage. The crew spent three weeks sailing through the middle of this gyre, collecting scientific data for international research projects with a focus on how these trillions of pieces of micro plastics are impacting human, and particularly women’s, health. This is a story of hope, filled with life, magic and a call to action that burns with optimism.

Synopsis

EARTH IS ALL MELODY weaves binaural field recordings, audio interviews and non-human polyphonies into a speculative soundscape of an ecological utopia. Drawing on discussions with environmental activists, disability rights campaigners, poets, urban planners and K-Pop musicians, this imagined future eco-city celebrates sustainability, accessibility and community through sound and multi-species connection.

Synopsis

If the Pennines are the backbone of England, the Helm Wind is the shiver that runs down the spine. An embodied investigation into Britain's only named wind - The Helm - WHEN THE CROWS WALKS HOME takes the viewer on an immersive journey with (and by) the Helm Wind.

Synopsis

Fairbourne’s residents were told that by 2054 their village will be decommissioned and left to the sea. As scientists test coastal defences in a lab, villagers on the frontline of the climate crisis confront an uncertain future. This is a story about the people labeled the UK’s first climate refugees. Official Selection Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

An ecologically conscious non-fiction short celebrating the biodiverse soundscapes of Taiwan. Using sounds and signage from the world’s first Quiet Trail (Cueifong Lake) and Quiet Urban Park (Yangmingshan) as starting points, Listen Closely encourages the act of listening to create a more harmonious and interconnected future.

Synopsis

The banana is the world's most eaten fruit but it is at risk of extinction. Composer and sound-artist-turned-director Matthew Herbert attaches a microphone to a banana in the Dominican Republic and records what it hears on the way to the UK.

Synopsis

Documentary following a young couple who bet on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. The pair battle entrenched tradition as they rip down fences and set the land back to its natural state, entrusting its recovery to a motley mix of animals both tame and wild. It is the beginning of a grand experiment that will become one of the most significant rewilding projects in Europe. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

Athel and Edward enjoy visiting the wetlands. Edward likes watching the birds, whilst Athel seems to have a much deeper connection to the landscape. When Athel makes a discovery, she is forced to re-examine what the wetlands mean to her. A meditation on nature, identity and wellington boots.