What and who causes environmental change? How does it affect us? Is there anything we can do about it? How can we use nature, but not use it up? What does it mean to be environmentally friendly? These are questions worth asking but difficult to answer.
The documentaries aim to bring to light complexity of environmental issues and a variety of struggles people face around the world. They depict conflict between humans in need of nature on one side and price we pay by our orientation on fast growth, comfort and satisfying our boundless desires on the other. They also show, that individual actions can make a difference.
1. Mission Blue (2014)
Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle devoted her life to exploring the ocean and Mission Blue takes us on a journey through rather frustrating changes she has witnessed in the ocean during her lifetime. The ocean is life, but we treat it mainly as a commodity. And it is getting out of our control according to Earle. Mission Blue inspires to explore and protect the ocean.
2. The True Cost (2015)
Based on a fraction of cases that made it to international news, thousands of people in Asia died in factory accidents due to poor working conditions while doing their jobs. The True Cost brings insight into apparel industry and features devastating effects of clothes production, fast fashion mindset and marketing practice on people involved in the industry and the environment.
3. The Cross of The Moment (2016)
What is the likelihood that we are alive? What if staying alive is painfully hard? Are we going to ruin the unique chance we´ve got? The Cross of The Moment is a reflection on human nature, complexity of physical, chemical, biological and other forces that rule our natural world and our inability to capture and understand them fully.
Our environment is changing, but our survival depends on its stability. What will happen when we reach the point of no return? Are we too many people? Do we have to leave fossil fuels in the ground? Do we have to decrease our consumption? Is technology our only saviour or part of a problem, too? Why are political and economic leaders not able to put available solutions into place? In dialougue with scientists who does not shy away from addressing questions and issues, that too many do not want to raise, the documentary is a call to stabilize natural forces that we set into motion by all means possible and available.
4. Thank You For the Rain (2017)
Passionate farmer Kisilu from Kenya is dedicated to improving farming practices and training people in his community to take care of their produce. But weather is not on his side on this little piece of land. Full of hope, Kisilu had been invited to speak at UN conference in Paris, he left frustrated by inability of world leaders to come to an agreement. As more places face droughts and extreme weather conditions, the scenario can become a reality for many in the future. The movie demonstrates how powerless we are when it comes to weather.
5. Before the Flood (2016)
Leonardo DiCaprio takes us on a journey as a United Nations Messenger to witness climate change firsthand. It is a story about climate change, our lifestyle, disinformation campaign in media, differences in interests and goals of the developed and developing countries and about inaction of politicians whose financial interests are tied closely with those industries that contribute to climate crisis the most. „But what is the right thing to do?“, DiCaprio asks himself. It is a search for hope in a flood of worrying news.
6. Cowspiracy (2014)
Unlike many other documentaries that focus on „war“ on fossil fuels, Cowspiracy comes with a different approach. It identifies meat production, specifically cattle grazing as one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, contributors to deforestation and water pollution. Beef production scores the worst in land use efficiency among food products. But why no one is talking about it? Cowspiracy suggests turning vegetarian or reducing meat consumption can make a difference.