How does film help us in the fight against climate change? Join us for this discussion featuring a panel of changemakers, from filmmakers documenting the frontline of environmental collapse to activists forcing the film industry to be active participants in the transformation to a green economy.

We are delighted to welcome Suzie Cross, Adam Laity, Alfie Warren Knight and Manu Maunganidze to discuss how film can amplify crucial voices, communicate complex issues, open space for nuanced conversation as well as understand the undeniable power of aesthetics and storytelling.

Meet the panel:

• Suzie Cross - Researcher and creator of Newland: New Vision for a Wilder Future (which you can watch as part of Our Land Our Lives: RIFA Finalist Short Films)
• Adam Laity - Filmmaker and creator of A Short Film About Ice (which you can watch as part of Ice on Fire: RIFA Finalist Short Films)
• Alfie Warren Knight - Bristol-based filmmaker and founder of Film Strike for Climate
• Manu Maunganidze - Bristol-based filmmaker

More information on the panel:

Adam Laity is a multiple award-winning cinematographer, filmmaker and researcher. His work examines the role of landscape in contemporary moving image, specifically the importance of re-conceptualising the notion of the sublime landscape to reflect the pervasive nature of the climate crisis.

Suzie Cross makes work to inspire ‘connection’ between people and places through artistic experiences, collaborations, programmes and festivals which engender critical thinking. At the heart of her work is fostering positive experiences for people individually, and together, to enliven the spirit, inspire pride in place and raise aspirations. Suzie is Artistic Director of the Land Lines Research Project at the University of Leeds exploring creative engagement as a tool to foster conservation and appreciation for our natural world.

After a successful first few years in the Film and Television industry, Alfie Warren-Knight became a social and environmental justice activist/organiser and founded the impactful Film Strike for Climate movement, which imagines a united global film and television industry that values social and environmental impact as much as it currently values entertainment and audience ratings.

Manu Maunganidze works at the crossroads between education, environment, culture and diversity. He has been a lifelong vocal and passionate campaigner for equality in the civic and professional spheres. He recently co-directed Rooted in Bristol, a documentary celebrating the contribution that people of African heritage have made over many decades, in creating and sustaining kitchen gardens across the allotment communities of Bristol over the last 50 years or more.

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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