Don't Look Up (2021)
The Biggest Little Farm (2018)
Gather (2020)
Environment
Cora’s Favourite Environmental Films To Educate & Inspire
The climate crisis is one of those things that can make us want to check out – it can seem like knowledge in this capacity can be overwhelming and scary. But there is a way to take knowledge and turn it into action, in fact an education in something is normally the thing that sparks a desire to do more.
These are the films that I have found to be the most impactful in forming opinions on the world around us, and what needs to be done to preserve it. As we move into a New Year, I hope you will consider watching some of these with us here at REV to learn more about the despair, hope, psychology, leaders and culprits within the climate movement.
Don’t Look Up (2021)
I recently watched this film with my husband and we both finished it truly affected – a dark satire with a bevy of celebrities, this is a call to action and a reflection of our current culture that makes you take a step back and assess everything. It’s funny, dark, disturbing and ultimately one of the best films I’ve ever seen about our environmental crisis and why we cannot count on politicians and corporations to do the right thing. This is a call to arms everyone should watch with their friends and families to start conversations.
Honeyland (2019)
This film is complex, beautiful and ultimately a wonderful look at human nature and individual impact. I am going to share the Guardian’s introduction as I think it so perfectly encapsulates it:
“his astonishing, immersive environmental documentary began life as a nature conservation video about one of Europe’s last wild-beekeepers. The scene is an abandoned village in North Macedonia where Hatidze, a woman in her mid-50s, harvests honey sustainably the traditional way from wild hives. “Half for them, half for me,” she chants, leaving enough for the bees.Serendipitously for directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov (though not for Hatidze), the family from hell moves in next door mid-shoot, and this small-scale film takes on epic proportions, transforming into a parable about exploiting natural resources, or perhaps a microcosm of humans’ suicidal destruction of the environment.” – Cath Clarke.
An absolute must see for many reasons!
Dark Waters (2019)
This film has stayed with me since I watched it over a year ago. Mark Ruffalo does an astounding performance as the lawyer who fought the chemical company DuPont for causing thousands of illnesses and many, many deaths and deformities from making it’s non-stick formulations. Please watch this and go out and replace any non-stick pans you may have immediately. You can also learn more about this HERE.
The Biggest Little Farm (2018)
This is one of the most emotional and uplifting documentaries I’ve seen – it tells the story of a young couple who move out of San Francisco to the California countryside to restore a farm to a thriving eco-system. Their triumphs, failures and difficulties are all documented over the years, and it shows what regeneration can truly look like and how people and animals can live in harmony with Mother Nature if we truly commit ourselves to it. A must see for farmers and non-farmers alike.
Gather (2020)
I was lucky enough to interview the Director of this film, Sanjay Rawal, on the REV podcast and his work on this incredible film should be seen by everyone. Sanjay gives a voice to the tragedies that befell Native American tribes, how their bison were slaughtered and their ways of life destroyed by a culture so out of touch with the Earth that there is now hardly anything left. This film talks of the Native Americans who are now trying to restore their heritages through traditional means of hunting and gathering, and pass this wisdom on to a new generation who can take it further and wider. A must see for anyone wanting to understand our need to listen to indigenous communities when it comes to solving a climate and humanitarian crisis.
To Which We Belong (2021)
This film is about to come out but I have watched the trailer several times and followed their instagram for a while so I wanted to include them. This is a film about individuals who are taking regenerative farming into their own hands to fix our broken soils, heal our overfished and depleted seas, and treat animals with the respect they deserve. It is high on my list of things to engage with in 2022 and I think it should be on yours too!
Kiss the Ground (2020)
I wanted to end with this film as it’s so focused on solutions….so much of the carbon we emit comes from our agricultural and farming practices which have become so unsustainable that the way most of us eat now is constantly feeding into the climate crisis. This film delves into how the process of regenerative farming can be a HUGE solution to this. By supporting farmers who are growing organically, biodynamically and ultimately regeneratively, we can start to actually capture this carbon back into the soils and have a healthier way of life with the food we eat and the way we use land. A hopeful and truly actionable watch!
