A collection of RIFA finalist short films that tell stories from communities in Bangladesh, Cornwall and Mexico who are fighting to protect their land, ecosystems, and histories from environmental destruction.

Watch how young people, farmers and Indigenous groups - voices marginalised from decision-making spaces - are documenting how their communities are changing in a world increasingly impacted by climate change - and how they are building new ways of being and healing towards a regenerative and fair future.

The climate crisis is a crisis of culture. These films showcase how climate change isn’t a political environmental phenomena but one which is innately tied to, and already impacting, our cultural and social lives.

The short films in the programme include:

• Newland: New Vision for a Wilder Future(dir: Suzie Cross, 2021, 29m 58s). Exploring how farmers play a significant part in shaping and maintaining the countryside, but their voices are often unheard, this film aims to dismantle the stereotypes assigned to farmers, reminding us that they care deeply about the environment and their impact on nature. Winner of Best Climate Emergency Film of the Year at RIFA 2021.
• To Be a Marma(dir: Ed Owles, 2020, 15m 41s). We follow four members of the Marma community in the Bangladesh/Myanmar border – a princess, the king, a monk and a pop star - as they reflect on the prospect of mass migration into their ancestral lands. Nominated for the Best Climate Emergency Film of the Year, and winner of the Inspiration Award at the RIFA 2020.
• Kii Nche Ndutsa (Time and the Seashell)(dir: Itandehui Jansen, 2021m 13m 10s). This film explores indigenous reflections on the environment and landscape in Mexico. Nominated for the Best Climate Emergency Film of the Year, RIFA 2021.
• INSECURE – Intergenerational stories of a coastal community facing climate change impacts(dir: Katie Parsons, 2021, 9m 36s). Explore the rapidly eroding coastline of the town of Withersnea and the local community’s relationship with this changing seascape. Nominated for the Best Climate Emergency Film of the Year, RIFA 2021.

This event is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, part of UKRI) as part of their Research in Film Awards (RIFA) Climate Screenings 2022. The films shown as part of these screenings were shortlisted for the RIFA Best Climate Emergency Film of the Year category 2020/2021 and showcase cutting-edge climate research in the arts and humanities. Free screenings and film events will also take place across Cardiff and Glasgow in April.

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