Global Warming Cinema | The film industry is learning how to tell climate change

the Film industrywhere millions of people enjoy movies and series every day, plays a crucial role in promoting social changes by highlighting facts that, such as Climate change Wave Loss of biodiversityThey are there without us realizing it sometimes.

Aware of this responsibility and the need for it Learn how to tell problems like the climate crisis “well”The Galician production company Portokapo (producer of series such as “Rapa” or “Hero”) and the European Climate Foundation (ECF) have launched a pilot project to train screenwriters on this topic.

“We've seen that The narrative that existed regarding climate change was all about collapse, which was paralyzing and generating environmental anxiety.. We realized that it did not make sense to do it this way, and that it was better to draw other types of futures that, in addition to being desirable, are possible,” ECF Spain Director Miriam Zaeteghe told EFEVerde.

He adds that the idea is not just to reach the “convinced” or tell people what to do, “but to educate them, and make them realize what is happening.”

Therefore, the approach is not to produce direct series or films about climate change, but rather to make the entertainment industry “there responsible And to show the reality in which we live,” according to Zetegui.

Consciousness raising itself has limited space and scope. “It's about Transcend awareness So that people begin to integrate this reality that exists but perhaps does not feel it or does not relate to their daily life.

In this sense, a good plot could say, for example, that machines in a hospital stop working because of a heat wave, “something that could actually happen to you,” he explained.

Pioneering movements

Since its inception, the culture has sought to be close to reality, to show it, according to Portocabo's content director, Nina Hernandez, who calls for productions to reflect those movements that change society, such as Combating climate change, gender equality and integrationetc.

“As we film Pioneering movementsWe are normalizing the situation,” said Hernandez, who cited, as an example, one of Hierro’s heroes, Nico, a boy with cerebral palsy who has a “different reality.” From that of other children.

It is important to know these facts well and know how to present them on screen, and to this end, Portocabo is receiving advice from Climate Spring, a British NGO specializing in Bringing an “environmental focus” to audiovisual production.

“We present them with scripts and they suggest opportunities to introduce climate change at different levels of importance, whether in plot or micro elements, little tidbits, events or characters that can be integrated into an already existing story,” even just on a visual level, Hernandez says.

“They help us find those gaps (…) They have more knowledge and help us see those small opportunities. Without this advice it would be difficult,” screenwriter Carlotta Dance admitted.

This guide is essential because while it addresses issues equality It's something that comes “naturally” to her because she lives it, and incorporating the climate crisis is not easy because, although she cares deeply about the environment, she lacks the knowledge, just like when working in a detective or judicial thriller.

corporate responsibility

Speaking with Four, Hernandez announced that they are working on a co-production with Germany where the story is set in the Canary Islands and has an oil rig and green hydrogen generation project with offshore wind in the background.

“They helped us deepen and integrate Elements of corporate responsibilityHe pointed out that in this case, the companies operating in the energy sector are polluted and are not responsible for cleaning, dismantling or recycling the platforms found at sea.

The ultimate goal must be to convey in a way that the viewer does not reject. Without disastersHernandez insisted that the topic enters naturally, so that there is learning that leads to normalization, and Zaetge added that since then Climate change already affects any area of ​​life It is a “very versatile” theme.

“Among the platforms and networks we work on, there is a growing expectation to integrate this content. We have to Join forces and work together so that the climate crisis response movement takes shape in a positive way“, concluded Hernandez.

Therefore, another of the goals of this Pilot experience It aims to prepare training materials containing everything learned so that it can be shared with production companies and other screenwriters, as its heroes indicated.