Climate changers in search of a leader
Image: Tim Flannery in CLIMATE CHANGERS. Image: supplied
The urgency and enormity of the Earth’s climate crisis is inversely proportional to the level of leadership being shown. This ludicrous fact is the impetus behind a new documentary film, Climate Changers, which follows preeminent Australian activist, Dr Tim Flannery on his quest to find genuine and effective champions of the cause somewhere on this planet.
Written and produced by Mark Forstmann and directed by Johan Gabrielsson, Climate Changers features interviews between Flannery and a number of significant politicians, community leaders, activists and academics. Through a mix of on-location and archival footage, the film takes viewers to remote East Kwaio in the Solomon Islands where the threat is real and present; as well as to the echo chambers of COP summits in Copenhagen 2009 and Glasgow 2021.
The film premiered at this year’s Sydney Film Festival and was shortlisted for Best Australian Documentary Award and the Sustainable Future Award. It screened with a Q&A afterwards that drew overwhelming participation.
It will screen again on September 17 along with a Q & A featuring Professor Tim Flannery, Dr. Saul Griffith and Kavita Naidu, and moderated by actor and activist, Yael Stone. Both film and Q&A will be live-streamed to theatres across the country and audiences anywhere can submit questions.
The film was made on a shoestring budget with some public funding and lots of goodwill, says director Gabrielsson.
“And of course, it doesn’t hurt that you’ve got Tim Flannery as the main character in the film, because he’s very well known and respected and you know, a terrific guy,” he adds.
Gabrielsson is Swedish but has been living in Australia for quite some time. He believes the leadership in this country is lacking when it comes to climate issues. (Not that he ranks Sweden much higher.)
“Sometimes I feel like we elect people and then we kind of leave them be and we let them sort it out — but they don’t.”
He regards this film as a clarion call to all to wake up and put pressure on their leaders and also start taking some personal responsibility. At the same time, he wanted to avoid being too alarmist.
“I didn’t want to make a doom and gloom film because there are so many climate films that are really, you know, saying you got to do this, you got to do that or it’s all gonna go to shit quickly. You know, there’s still time and I just hope that the film is kind of optimistic in that sense.”
While the film does show physical evidence of climate change, with dramatic images of floods and beach erosion, it mainly focuses on significant activists; people who can provide inspiration and authenticity.
Among the better known interviewees is Al Gore, with whom Flannery has a fireside chat.
“I wanted him to be in this film because he is such an inspiration for Tim Flannery, you know…the way that Al Gore has managed to, in words and in deeds, make this a very relevant and important topic,” says Gabrielsson.
Flannery also speaks with Andrew Forrest, chairman of a large corporate mining company and a seemingly unlikely ally in the sustainability space. However, Forrest is spearheading the movement towards green and renewable energy.
“I think that section in the film is awesome,” says Gabrielsson. “Tim talks about leadership coming from all kinds of angles.”
Perhaps one of the most powerful moments in the film is when Flannery has an impromptu chat with Uili Lousi, Ambassador for the Kingdom of Tonga, whom he meets at the COP Summit.
“That was one of the most emotional things during the whole filming,” says Gabrielsson, describing the encounter. “It wasn’t planned. We saw him walking around and I think Tim has met him before. He started to talk and then he just started to cry… talking about all the islands disappearing. And I mean, we just stood. I still remember it. It can still raise hair on my skin…and then Tim went up and hugged him and we were all kind of teary.”
Gabrielsson was not much of an activist coming into the project. He is a documentary film maker and he recognised Flannery who was good on screen and could tell a story. However, during and since making Climate Changers, Gabrielsson feels far more invested in the cause.
“I’ve got three kids, I want them to have a healthy life and have kids and grandchildren.”
