PRESS RELEASE
Following its world premiere at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival, where it was shortlisted for the Best Australian Documentary Award and the Sustainable Future Award, the vital documentary Climate Changers will be coming to cinemas nationally for a special screening and live streamed Q&A event on Sunday, September 17 at 5.30pm AEST. Professor Tim Flannery, Dr. Saul Griffith and Kavita Naidu will participate in the live streamed Q&A, moderated by actor and climate advocate Yael Stone. A limited cinema release will follow in the weeks after.
Directed by Johan Gabrielsson, and written and produced by Mark Forstmann, Climate Changers follows acclaimed scientist Tim Flannery as he searches for the missing ingredient in our fight against climate change – leadership. Where are the climate leaders who will drive change? How might they succeed where others have failed? Tim Flannery poses these questions as he meets global leaders from the corridors of power and frontlines of climate change. Climate Changers delves into what frustrates Tim, what motivates him, and explores where Tim believes the solutions lie to humanity’s greatest challenge.
Throughout the film, Tim discusses climate leadership with an impressive group of leaders, providing their thoughts, solutions and models for potential pathways through this perilous landscape. Interviewees include: 45th Vice President of the United States, Al Gore; engineer, renewable electricity advocate and founder of Rewiring Australia, Dr. Saul Griffith; former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull; Fijian international human rights lawyer and activist, Kavita Naidu; Dharawal and Yuin custodian, and community leader Paul Knight; co-founder and president of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, Jo Dodds; climate councillor and former head of BP Australasia, Greg Bourne; tribal chief of East Kwaio in the Solomon Islands, community leader and conservationist, Chief Esau Kekeubata; West Papuan activist and human rights lawyer, Frederika Korain; and Tishiko King, a Kulkalaig woman from Masig (Yorke Island), who as a First Nations Advisor, attended the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Director Johan Gabrielsson comments “I wanted to make a film that asks the most pressing question in a changing global climate: do we have the leadership to take us to a greener future? As I followed Tim from his home on the Hawkesbury River, to the world’s largest global climate summit, I witnessed his amazing knowledge and empathy on full display. I hope Climate Changers offers inspiration and impetus to a greener tomorrow.”
Tim Flannery adds “For a long time, there has been a gap in climate leadership. I wanted to dig deeper, work out why we are so lacking in climate leaders, and talk about how we can tackle this challenge. I met with some incredible minds in the making of this film, people who are out there doing incredible work. I hope some of the ideas explored can empower policy-makers and the broader population to instigate the changes we so desperately need.”
The Climate Changers screening and live Q&A event will take place on Sunday September 17 at 5.30pm AEST. Following a screening of the film, actor and climate advocate Yael Stone will moderate a live Q&A with Professor Tim Flannery, Dr. Saul Griffith and Kavita Naidu. The Q&A will be live streamed to cinemas around the country, inviting audiences to enjoy a robust and insightful discussion on the topic of climate leadership. Audience questions from around the nation will be submitted through a real-time app and relayed to the panelists for response.
SCREENING LOCATIONS:
NSW: Ritz Cinemas Randwick, Dendy Newtown, The Regent Murwillumbah, Avoca Beach Picture Theatre, Village Cinemas Albury
VIC: Lido Cinema, Classic Elsternwick, Cameo Cinemas, Village Cinemas Jam Factory, Village Cinemas Geelong, Village Cinemas Bendigo, Village Cinemas Crown Casino, Village Cinemas Morwell, Village Cinemas Warrnambool, Village Cinemas Werribee and Theatre Royal Castlemaine.
QLD: New Farm Cinemas, Dendy Coorparoo, Regal Cinema Graceville, Angelika Film Centre – Woolloongabba | TAS: Village Cinemas Launceston, State Cinema Hobart, Village Cinemas Glenorchy
SA: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Wallis Cinemas – Mitcham, Wallis Cinemas – Mt Barker
ACT: Dendy Canberra | WA: Luna Leederville
Further information at: https://climatechangersmovie.com/screenings/
Climate Changers is directed by Johan Gabrielsson, written and produced by Mark Forstmann of Totem Films, and co-produced by Jenine Olliver. The production team includes cinematographer Justine Kerrigan ACS, editors Antoinette Ford and Lindi Harrison ASE, and composer Seth Gabrielsson. The impact production team includes Stephanie King, Andrea Foxworthy and Lucy Corrigan of Documentary Australia.
Climate Changers is distributed in Australia by Antidote Films and is part of Documentary Australia’s Environmental Accelerator program, with support from Intrepid Travel. Event partner is Future Super, with the Climate Council as a key impact partner.
