17th April until 12th June 2012
Filmbase, Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
with English subtitles
Admission free
Booking required:
Mail Symbolbookings@cultivate.ie
Tel. +353 505 56063
Climate.Culture.Change is a series of provocative films and discussions which highlight the social dimension of climate change. Designed to challenge, illuminate and inspire, the series presents a panorama of interconnections from the causes of climate change to the roles of individuals and societies in addresssing the issues. It builds momentum in Ireland to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Rio + 20).
The films in Climate.Culture.Change are from six European countries giving an international perspective on the issues around climate change. Cultivate’s Davie Philip will facilitate the discussion after each screening with film makers, activists and scientists.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012, 7.00 pm
Opening Night
An evening of short films and conversation with Michael Greif from Germany and Jim Kitchen from Northern Ireland, hosted by Davie Philip, Cultivate.
The evening will explore the need to change our values and our way of life in the face of climate change, using a number of shorts and clips from the documentaries in the series. The power of film as an important tool for getting the message across to the general public will also be discussed.
Michael Greif is head of the Hamburg Office of ECOMOVE International. ECOMOVE support, promote and distribute media on the environment and sustainable development. Michael Greif curated the film seriesClimate.Culture.Change on behalf on the Goethe-Institut.
Jim Kitchen was formally the Northern Ireland Director of the UK Sustainable Development Commission. He currently works with the Soil Association managing a new project to develop sustainable food communities in Northern Ireland.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012, 7.00 pm
Birdwatchers / La terra degli uomini rossi
Dir.: Marco Bechis. 108 min., Italy/Brazil 2008
In the southern region of Mato Grosso do Sul, near the border of Brazil and Paraguay, the most populous indigenous nation of the country silently struggles for its territory. Thousands of hectares of sugarcane have been planted on their land by multinational companies that, in cooperation with the Brazilian government, promote ethanol to the world as an environmentally friendly and ‘clean’ fuel. When a tribe of Guarani Indians attempt to re-inhabit their ancestral land, tensions escalate.
The film screening is followed by a panel discussion with experts:
Peadar Kirby is Professor Emeritus of International Politics and Public Policy at the University of Limerick. In the early 1980s he was Irish Times correspondent on Latin America.
Colette Spears is the former coordinator of LASC Latin America Solidarity Centre where she worked on Guaraní-Kaiowá land rights. She has previously done research in Brazil on the issue of housing and land occupation and is currently working with the Irish Traveller Movement.
Barbara Tomasella is Managing Director of Sustainable Tourism Ireland.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012, 7.00 pm
About Water / Über Wasser
Dir.: Udo Maurer, 82 min., Austria, Luxemburg 2007
This dizzingly fresh look at the world’s most common element offers up unforgettable portraits of humanity’s precarious, dependent relationship with water from Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Nairobi. The people and images poetically remind us that the most abundant element sustains and threatens us all in equal measure.
The film screening is followed by a panel discussion with experts:
Udo Maurer: The director has filmed and directed a number of documentaries for the Austrian state broadcaster ORF, Spiegel TV and Discovery Channel.
Sinead O’Brien is the network coordinator of Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), a coalition of 24 of Ireland’s leading environmental organisations working together in a coordinated way on water issues.
Dom Hunt is the Disaster Reduction Advisor at CONCERN Worldwide, who has seen firsthand the impact climate change has on developing countries such as Bangladesh.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012, 7.00 pm
Before the Flood: Tuvalu
Dir.: Paul Lindsay, 62 min., UK/France 2004
Tuvalu, an island in the Pacific Ocean, may seem like paradise, but it will sink beneath the waves within a few decades as a result of climate change. This film describes the impact of the modern Western lifestyle in a thoughtful and melancholic way, while pointing out the challenge of forgoing short-term comsumption for the benefit of increased long-term quality of life, even when the terrible consequences are literally on their front doorstep.
The film screening is followed by a discussion with expert:
Gavin Harte is the Corporate Responsibility Consultant at Business in the Community Ireland, a movement of companies committed to responsible business practices. He is an active participant of the Stop Climate Change coalition.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012, 7.00 pm
People – Dreams – Actions / Menschen – Träume – Taten
Dir.: Andreas Stiglmayr, 90 min., Germany 2007
This is a documentary about a small ecovillage established in the East German countryside in the 1990s. A group of around 120 people set up Sieben Linden, an autonomous eco-settlement that satisfies all of their needs in harmony with nature. During the process they are confronted with organisational, financial and, above all, social difficulties. Finding the balance between individual wants and group needs often requires tough decisions.
The film screening is followed by a panel discussion with experts:
Michael Würfel is a Sieben Linden ecovillage resident, filmmaker and author of a new book on Sieben Linden.
Trish Kinsella is a Cloughjordan ecovillage member who has worked extensively on the ongoing design and operation of the project.
Jonathan Dawson is the author of Ecovillages – New Frontiers of Sustainabilityand Head of Economics at Schumacher College. He was until recently a long-term resident at the Findhorn ecovillage and is a former coordinator of GEN Europe and President of GEN, Global Ecovillage Network.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012, 7.00 pm
Just Do It
Dir.: Emily James, 88 min., UK 2011
Just Do It lifts the lid on climate activism and tells the story of people standing up for what they believe in. Documented over a year, Emily James’ film follows a group of environmental activists as they blockade factories, occupy coal power stations and glue themselves to the trading floors of international banks despite the very real threat of arrest. Articulate, funny and engaging, the ensemble cast care passionately about the environment on a global level, but work locally, with courage, determination and manners to take a stand.
The film screening is followed by a panel discussion with experts:
Emily James: The Director is an award winning documentary filmmaker originally from the United States. She studied documentary directing at the National Film and Television School in the UK, where she continues to live.
Molly Walsh is Policy and Campaigns Manager with Friends of the Earth Ireland, she is active in Stop Climate Chaos and has been involved in direct action.
Barry McCarron was selected as one of 15 Irish climate advocates in a British Council programme called Challenge Europe in 2010. He was also part of the youth delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban in 2011.
Presented by Cultivate and EUNIC Ireland
The following EUNIC Ireland members are participating in the event:
Alliance Francaise, Austrian Embassy, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Supported by the European Commission Representation in Ireland
