 Photo courtesy of Voices of Earth Q: What inspired this story? Everything begun from a question that we made to ourselves: if there was a time that humans and wild animals needed to be friends and cooperate for surviving in the wild, what remains today about that? What remains from the connection hat we have lost. At the very beginning we had the idea of making a feature documentary about the last relations of symbiosis between humans and wild nature all around the world. But after more and more research we realized that we could join as couples many of the stories. Thats why finally each chapter has 2 stories that work as a mirror one with each other. Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? In some places the climate was hard. For example in Mongolia we were sleeping in tents at -18Cº for a month. The batteries and cameras suffered a lot. In South Sudan or Ethiopia the security sometimes was a must and looking for hyenas in Harar city in the middle of the night was a challenge too. In Perú we worked at more than 5000 meters above the sea level for capturing the vicuñas. We needed to try for twice because the first time the people from the community couldn’t capture anyone. More than 70 people went walking to the top of the mountains for nothing… but we finally made it. The team behind the scenes was small. 4 people have been traveling along 11 countries nearly without a break. Sometimes we felt exhausted but the commitment and the passion of the crew was incredible and we achieved what we were looking for. Q: What did you learn from your experience making this film/program? Many learns… I couldn’t make a list. 11 countries, many emotions, stories and experiences. Maybe one of the most important ones: you can find the greatest beauty of the human being in people like the main characters of the series. Because they are still much closer to what we really were during the origin of our species. And this is a good reason to support the conservation of our planet I think.  Photo courtesy of Voices of Earth Q: How do you approach storytelling? The way that we work takes a lot of effort during the preproduction phase. The two directors study a lot about each ethnic group(publications, anthropological studies, articles…) and the main characters that will be the protagonists of the chapters. Before going for filming there is a study on field made by the local producer. The local producer receive all the doubts and ideas from the directors after theirs studies. Is a very interesting way to have a first idea of what is honestly real from what you have studied or read and contrast it with the reality. According to the info that we receive from the local production, we compare it with the bibliography that we have studied and the writing of the fist script starts. With that first script the shooting crew travel to the country where the story will take place. The first contact with the people is very important so we don’t usually take the cameras until the 3th or 4th day. Once we know the people and we discover who will finally be the main character we start with the interview. The interview is very long and deep, in the case of the mongolian story it took more or less 13 hours of questionary. After each day of interview, it is made a translation that works for prepare the shooting of each scene according to the words of the character. The script evolves day by day with the new infos and the way you can shoot the scenes. And in the case of this series due to the structure in which each chapter has 2 parallel stories we tried to make a storytelling that could work as a mirror. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? We hope this series will be a great chance for inviting to our society to reconnect with the nature. Is a chance for having a conversation with people that apparently don’t have nothing in common with but you realized that yes. All of us, it doesn’t mind from where you are, your culture or your color, belong to the nature. And inside each one of us there is a feeling of love to the animals and nature because there was a time that we were part of the ecosystems as a one more wild element. The main characters of this series have been living in a very sustainable way with nature and their environment using their cultural knowledge and traditions. Today governments, fortunately, are investing millions of dollars in conservation but them have been doing that as a way of living since their upper ancestors. And it seems that nobody cares many times about them. During the next 20 years many of the stories of this series will be extinct and with them we will lose an incalculable human heritage.  Photo courtesy of Voices of Earth Q: What's next?
We can't talk much about it yet but the team will be working in the Amazon and African rainforest in 2022 for filming some new conservation and indigenous stories.
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 In 2020, Ben Albert spent his summer floating around wetlands in southwest Wisconsin in a canoe. Ben’s grandfather, Cal DeWitt, is a wetland scientist who has lived on and studied the Waubesa Wetlands for over fifty years. The area is one of the highest quality and most diverse wetlands remaining in the state of Wisconsin. Eager to share the story of this less-appreciated ecosystem, DeWitt called up Ben in the spring of 2020 and asked him if he would be interested in making a film about the wetlands and the wildlife who call it home. Just a few weeks after dropping out of film school, Ben agreed and made his way to the area, spending months exploring the wetlands on foot and in the water. Using a telephoto lens, he captured footage of creatures great and small, while also sharing the human perspective of what it’s like to be in a wetland. “As I explored the wetland and learned more from my grandpa, my own perspective changed. I began to see the deeper value and beauty of this ecosystem. Whether it’s a wetland, a local park, or our own backyard, we are surrounded by the hidden wonders of the natural world if only we take a closer look.”  Photo by Ben Albert Ben Albert is a wildlife filmmaker and member of the Jackson Wild Collective. Now based in Maine as an intern for Compass Light Productions, Ben grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin, immersed in nature. “It was an incredible place to grow up,” he said. “When I was at school in the city, I realized I was missing that part of my life.” He got his start young, picking up a camera and filming his friends when they went skiing. His interest turned towards narrative filmmaking, which allowed him to hone some technical skills and become a better editor and cinematographer. Film school was a logical next step, but after a couple of years, it became clear that he wasn’t on a path toward what he was most passionate about. “I don’t regret it at all,” Ben said about his choice to leave film school. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in terms of my career.” Ben was raised on nature documentaries, seeing the wonder of the planet as narrated by Sir David Attenborough. “The natural world is really a magical place that you can lose yourself in. It’s all around us, but these films bring it out in a new light,” he said. He knew he wanted to get more into nature and documentary filmmaking instead of narrative film, so he left school, headed to the Waubesa Wetlands, and never looked back.  Photo by Ben Albert Ben is still early on in his career, but he shared advice for emerging filmmakers: “Make opportunities for yourself. Especially when you’re just starting out, projects won’t just fall into your lap. A lot of the time, the only thing stopping you is yourself – learn skills online and think about what you can do right now to get yourself where you want to be.” He also shared something he wished he could tell his younger self: “If I were to give myself advice two years ago, it would be to not try and do everything by yourself. Everything you do will be ten times better if you bring in others.” The Jackson Wild Collective has helped Ben put that advice into practice. “I think the map feature is one of the best parts; I’ve connected with people all over the world,” he said. Ben joined the Collective after the 2021 Jackson Wild Summit. “When I first thought about making this my career, I felt like there was a huge gap between where I was and where I wanted to be, between emerging and established filmmakers. The Collective bridges that divide, connecting people with different skill levels and experiences into one space together. It breaks down barriers and reminds us that we’re all people, we can all support each other.” Ben continues to work on Waubesa Wetlands - An Invitation to Wonder; you can view the trailer HERE. Follow Ben on Instagram to keep up with his latest work, and check out his website to learn more about his projects.  Photo by Ben Albert The Jackson Wild Collective is the virtual home for our global storytelling community to connect, collaborate and inspire change year-round. Join today.
 Photo courtesy of Nature's Fear Factor Q: What inspired this story? Executive Producer Jared Lipworth got word that Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique was planning on reintroducing a top predator - African Wild Dogs - back to its ecosystem. He realized that this would be a rare opportunity to tell the story of the key role predators play in the natural world and set about putting the team together that could help make the most of it. Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? The main production challenge was in capturing the African Wild Dogs in their natural element. They move constantly, they move swiftly, and these packs in particular moved unpredictably since they were just exploring their new home - a diverse African landscape the size of the state of Rhode Island. The biggest story-telling challenge was to integrate the larger scientific investigations within the very specific narrative of these particular African Wild Dogs. In order for us to tell our true story, the "landscape of fear" scientific theory needed explaining and contextualizing, the park's history needed to be laid out, and the various human characters needed to be introduced and profiled all the while not losing the momentum of the narrative.  Photo courtesy of Nature's Fear Factor Q: What did you learn from your experience making this film/program? I learned that African Wild Dogs – otherwise known as Painted Wolves or Painted Dogs – are an incredibly charismatic and tragically endangered species. Like many predators, they have been targeted for extermination in the past. Fortunately, there are some heroic efforts underway to reintroduce them to appropriate areas, including Gorongosa. In making this film I also came to a deeper appreciation for the role of predators in wild ecosystems and their importance in establishing and maintaining a healthy balance between the various species. Q: How do you approach storytelling? I approach storytelling as a journey. I was an English major in college, but I firmly believe that the truth is always more interesting and useful than anything you could make up. With each project I am learning something new, meeting new people, exploring a new part of the world. For me, the most successful projects are the ones that somehow take the viewer on the same journey I have gone through and allow them to share in the discovery, excitement, and surprise I have experienced along the way. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? I hope people who see Nature’s Fear Factor will have a greater appreciation for nearly everything in the film – the role of predators in general and African Wild Dogs in particular; the importance of national parks like Gorongosa; and the dedication and intelligence of the scientists and conservationists who devote their lives to wild places and the animals who depend upon them. I also hope viewers will come away with a sense of hope, that rewilding can succeed and that Nature can rebound if given the chance.  Photo courtesy of Nature's Fear Factor Filmmaker Q+A with Geoff Luck, SVP Creative & Production of Wild Elements Studios: Greens for Good5/9/2022  Photo courtesy of Greens for Good Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? This film was shot in Liverpool in December of 2020. Given limitations due to the pandemic, this meant collaborating with a remote UK-based team who had to work within a narrow window between lockdowns—and to do so as carefully and responsibly as possible. Each scene was evaluated for safety as well as storytelling significance, and involved the planning and input of all concerned. The creative approach to the piece was thus built in stages, with the initial approach determined by Farm Urban and the US team then handed over to the UK production team who then worked with the subject on its realization, only to then pass it off again to a post-production team back in the States. Despite—or perhaps, because—of these many voices, the piece came together as a mutual expression, one enriched by each person that had a (sanitized) hand in its production. Q: How do you approach storytelling? Before making this film, the creative team at Wild Elements spoke with the subjects at Farm Urban about what was most important for them about their work. They mentioned specific programs and how they operate, the way they engage the community and the benefits they offer, as one might expect. But most of all, they described a point of view. One that spoke of social and environmental justice, the possibilities of human invention and collaboration, the centrality of caregiving and community. So we put this at the forefront of our efforts, and sought ways to evoke—or even more simply, to recognize—the depth of the team’s commitment to their work and those they work with and for. Any of that that comes through is a direct result of the leadership offered by the Farm Urban team themselves, the connections they forged with the UK production team, and the way that showed itself in the edit room. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? We live in a time when we have to rethink the way we do things—both at the margins of our presence on the planet and in the heart of our sprawling cities. By looking at the innovative ways that Farm Urban couples emerging technologies with innovative social outreach and engagement, we hope the film will compel others to think outside the box of how things have been done to wonder about how they might be done instead. It is then ultimately aimed to inspire urban dwellers to see that our connection to nature starts at home—even if that home seems bound by concrete and high rises.  Photo courtesy of Greens for Good  Photo courtesy of Looking for Life on Mars Q: How do you approach storytelling?
The best stories come from compelling storytellers. I search for scientists who are passionate about their work and excited about the challenges involved and work with them to develop ways to tell their stories and translate their work into language the rest of us can understand. For me, that’s the biggest challenge in science programming, finding ways to personalize the story. Q: What impact do you hope this program will have? From landing a rover on Mars to flying a tiny helicopter named Ingenuity on another planet, the scientists featured in “Looking for Life on Mars” are inspiring. I hope their stories help people understand what kind of collaboration and dedication it takes to engineer this kind of space mission, as well as motivate aspiring young scientists to pursue their dreams. Q: What’s next? I’m currently producing an hour for PBS/NOVA about the James Webb Space Telescope, launching sometime this year. It is the most complex space telescope ever built. Consequently, the mission has had a difficult time getting off the ground. But if all works as planned, it will revolutionize the world of astronomy. We’re following several scientists on the mission to see how their stories unfold and if years of hard work will pay off.  Photo courtesy of The Witness is a Whale. Q: What inspired this story? Nick came across a scientific article back in 2015 about wide-ranging Soviet illegal whaling that had taken place during the Cold War, and we were shocked that we had never heard about this. The more we looked into this slaughter, the more astounded we became at the extent both of the crime and of the cover-up. We realized that although largely unknown, these actions, in addition to all of the other whaling throughout the past few centuries, have far-reaching repercussions which are still impacting our oceans today. Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? The main challenges in making this film were twofold: tracking down and interviewing people with first-hand knowledge of what transpired over 50 years ago, and capturing wildlife that wasn’t always cooperative, in often challenging conditions. Making it more complicated was that the primary protagonists were in disparate parts of Russia, Ukraine, and New Zealand. As for filming the whales, we experienced some harsh winter storms at sea in small boats, and the whales’ behavior wasn’t always predictable.  Photo courtesy of The Witness is a Whale. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? We hope that people will come away with a greater appreciation of the importance of whales and the interconnectedness of life in the oceans. We appreciate the opportunity to have our film screened here at Jackson Wild where perhaps it will inspire some of the audience to continue the Save the Whale campaign which began in the 1970’s. Q: Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share? We had never been aware of an incredibly impressive man, Dr. Alexey Yablokov, who had been responsible for many important things over his lifetime, including revealing the existence and magnitude of the Soviet Union’s intentional illegal whaling throughout the Cold War. Despite formidable political opposition, Alexey was an idealistic force of nature and was extremely inspirational to us. We learned of his courageousness in defending not only nature but also the nascent democracy of Russia. It was humbling to be able to meet such an idealistic individual.  Photo courtesy of The Witness is a Whale. Q: Any fun facts about the film/program, the subject matter or the production crew that might surprise the audience? We spent a lot of time filming right whales and were surprised by how agile and boisterous they can be. The calves especially were often quite energetic and playful, interacting with anything or anyone they found interesting, whether it was agile sea lions or less agile humans. A number of times we retreated to our support boat when the calves got too animated. Fun fact – adult right whales also have the largest testes in the animal kingdom. Q: What's next? While we were filming The Witness Is the Whale, we learned that despite some whale populations recovering quite well, others are still in danger of extinction. We are currently in production with a film about some of those threatened populations. Filmmaker Q+A with Maxwel Hohn, Director and Cinematographer of Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration4/18/2022  Photo courtesy of Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration Q:What inspired this story? The tadpoles had their own story to tell, I just had to spend enough time filming and researching them to discover what that was and translate it to film. These resilient creatures undergo some impressive feats that most people would never have the opportunity to see for themselves. I think what inspired me the most was bringing the amazing natural migration of these toads to light for everyone to see. I love to share my experiences, and hopefully inspire people to care more about our environments and the creatures in them, no matter how small. Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film. The subjects were incredibly tiny, and therefore difficult to film. I used just about every tool in my filming arsenal to get a variety of shots needed to make the film work.  Photo courtesy of Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration Q: What did you learn from your experience making this film? I underestimated the amount of time and energy that goes into making a film such as this. It was the first of its kind for me, and I would say the entire experience was a learning curve. It really opened my eyes to the world of filmmaking, and all the skills you must develop to get the proper sequences for the story. In addition to the technical side of things, you also must dive into the world of ecology, and use proper research to ensure our story is based in facts. Q: Were there any surprising or meaningful moment/experiences you want to share? Any fun facts about the film, the subject matter or the production crew that might surprise the audience? As a self-funded passion project, we spent most of our time camping with my fiancée and two dogs. It’s about as grassroots as it come when we have our two westie dogs Fionnigan and Wallace in our credits! Q: What's next? More filming! Whether it’s for other productions, or more personally produced films such as Tadpoles I just can’t get enough, so this is just the beginning  Photo courtesy of Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration  Photo Credit: Coextinction Q: What inspired this story? The Southern Resident orcas inspired this story. I’ve been passionate about orcas ever since I was a child. I’d watch every film and read every book I could to learn more about this animal. My dream was always to work with them. Early in my career, I was focused on how I could help captive whales, but I never would have imagined they were threatened in the wild as well. In 2017, upon learning the remaining 78 Southern Resident orcas were on the verge of extinction, I moved to a small island in the Salish Sea to monitor them, spending countless hours on the water studying their behavioral patterns. I witnessed first hand how dire the situation was. That’s where the idea for Coextinction came from. I’ve seen how documentaries (like Sharkwater, Blackfish or My Octopus Teacher) can create real change; this was my way of trying to save them.  Photo Credit: Coextinction Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? Making Coextinction has been one of the most beautiful experiences but it has also been one of the most challenging. Funding and burnouts were two of the biggest challenges we encountered, and two we feel are incredibly important to discuss and share. With the heavy-heartedness of the story and urgency to get the film out before it’s too late, our team inevitably faced burnouts. We had to learn how to balance work and our own health and remember that taking care of ourselves is an inherent part of conservation work and activism. Finding funding is connected with this too. We worked in a grassroots and innovative way to find the funding we needed to create Coextinction, but for the most part our team was volunteer-based and worked overtime to get the film to where it is today. We know these challenges are not singular to our project and that we have been extremely privileged to be able to work in this way. We’re grateful we get to share this with you today as we know there is still work to be done to make this work inclusive for all.  Photo Credit: Coextinction Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? From the get go, we created Coextinction with the goal to inspire people to take bold action to protect the orcas, the coast, and people. We hope our audiences understand the idea that all life is interconnected, humans not excluded, and to think of the extinction crisis as a coextinction crisis. No species goes extinct in isolation. If the orca goes, so go we. If we can understand this, we may be able to save the Southern Resident orcas, the Pacific Northwest, and ourselves. We are designing an ongoing impact campaign that challenges humanity, with a focus on colonial capitalist societies, to transform and coexist with all life around us. This is the impact we hope to achieve with this film and story. Q: What next? What’s next for us is creating momentum from Coextinction to inspire and engage with people worldwide to galvanize direct action on the issues brought forth in the film and amplify Indigenous voices and movements to support their rights, sovereignty, and stewardship of their traditional and rightful territories. As part of our impact campaign, we are working to build foundations that allow action and change to continue on and be led by Indigenous communities, whether or not we can be there at all times. We are also building our production company to continue to tell stories of intersectionality and protect the coast, this Earth and its people. Stay tuned to see our next films!  Photo Credit: Coextinction  Photo Credit: Izembek Q: What inspired this story? Gerrit: Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lies along the Bering Sea coast of the Alaska Peninsula. It protects a coastal lagoon that holds the largest beds of eelgrass on earth, a magnet to migratory birds, making it one of the most important waterfowl staging and wintering sites in the U.S. The Refuge is recognized under the Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Significance, and as an Important Bird Area of global significance by BirdLife International and the National Audubon Society. More than two-thirds of the refuge is federally designated wilderness. There has been pressure for decades to build a road through Izembek’s federally designated wilderness and that effort came to a head in January 2018 when former Department of the Interior head Ryan Zinke signed a land transfer agreement trading away vital bird habitat to make way for the road’s construction. The broader development implications of a precedent-setting road through a federal wilderness are significant, and lawsuits have stalled the project. Proponents of the road have reframed their argument as a public health issue but the underlying motivation for the road is commercial. Virtually no high-quality media existed of the wildlife spectacle or critical lands under threat at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. With an immediate need to inform public audiences and policymakers about the global significance of the wetlands and wilderness at stake The Cornell Lab sponsored this project to finally put a face on Izembek. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? Gerrit: The goal of this film and the media collected for this project is to provide visual material to conservation groups that have long fought to protect Izembek with little to no visual resources. Our ultimate hope is that the road will never be built. Construction of a road through the refuge is unnecessary and would undermine the purpose and intent of The Wilderness Act. The proposed land exchange would be the first “de-designation” of federally protected wilderness lands for the objective of allowing a development project to proceed.  Photo Credit: Izembek Q: Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share? Gerrit: During the course of making this film we had a brief but incredible encounter with a pack of seven gray wolves. We learned several days later that a local hunter located and legally killed the entire pack within the refuge. It was a heart-breaking experience for the crew. Q: Anything else you would like people to know? Gerrit: The election of Joe Biden gave hope that this issue would finally be put to rest, and the road project cancelled. However, recent developments suggest that President Biden has used the issue to gain support from Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski by not standing in the way of the project.  Photo Credit: Izembek Q: What inspired this story? The greatest inspiration around this story is the knowledge and understanding that climate change is the greatest threat to human rights in the 21st century, causing the displacement of millions around the world, with climate-induced food insecurity fueling even more conflicts every day. Not only is our youngest generation among the most vulnerable, they will also bear the worst consequences. Over the past ten years, I, as the director, have taken a deep dive into the topic of climate change and its disproportionate impacts on young people, as well as learned about the legal frameworks of climate litigation. In 2011, I co-created a 10-part documentary short series featuring youth suing their state governments over climate change, which showed me the power of the youth voice, the importance of the judicial branch of government in the climate solution, and ultimately led to the documentation of YOUTH v GOV. In 2015, when Juliana vs. The United States was filed, I knew it was an opportunity to look at WHY young Americans have a constitutional right to a stable climate system and to reach a larger audience through a feature documentary. The entire team cannot imagine a more important story to tell at this point in history. We are heartbroken about the future we are leaving our children and children around the world and the challenges they will face as climate impacts intensify. We are inspired by the vision of these young people and thoroughly believe that their message and their landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit has the potential to change how we address the climate crisis.  Photo Courtesy of YOUTH v GOV Q: Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film/program? When I set out to make this documentary, I had no idea how complex and challenging the story would become. Initially, I was drawn to the personal stories of the young plaintiffs featured in the film -- their bravery and perseverance to take their government to court to protect their rights to a stable climate, and the dedication and perseverance that they exhibited. However, I knew that the plaintiff’s stories alone were not enough; they had to be experienced in the context of the landmark and historic constitutional lawsuit they were a part of – Juliana vs. The United States. As the director, I spent years getting to know the plaintiffs and their families by traveling to their communities to understand what shaped these young people into the young leaders they were becoming while I was documenting their stories. Telling a compelling story of twenty-one characters and a legal team over four years following a very complex legal case with complicated terminology and court proceedings added to the challenge of writing this film. From the onset, we were committed to amplifying the youth voice by telling their stories. It would have been easier to focus the story on the lawsuit or adult experts, or to create yet another climate catastrophe film. Rather, what has inspired us is the hope and determination of these young people, and the innovative solution to the climate crisis that they are seeking. However, creating a compelling story around a complicated lawsuit is tricky. We had an overabundance of important information to share with the audience to provide an understanding of the critical case elements and the gravity of a potential court ruling, but we knew this could quickly become a scenario with a bunch of talking heads, leaving the audience emotionally removed from the story. Throughout the edit, we knew it would be imperative to highlight the intimate, verite moments with our characters – the heart of our story -- and to weave those moments together with the legal case elements and historical background to create a cohesive story. We sifted through hundreds of hours of archival footage, audio files, documents, climate and government reports, law, and photographs to weave together this very important piece of American history that is of utmost importance today. This footage supports the current day interviews showing what the government’s own scientists were saying about the dangers of greenhouse gases as the administrations continued locking the country into a fossil fuel-based energy economy through promoting, permitting, authorizing, and subsidizing fossil fuel extraction and consumption. Importantly, we took great care to present the facts in the film in a non-partisan way. During production, we also faced a myriad of challenges, such as scheduling shoots and crew around a court schedule that was completely unknown, court decisions that were unpredictable, and climate impacts that were sudden and travel-intensive. We had to be nimble as a crew to navigate these unknowns and to have a sense about what moments were crucial to capture. Q: What did you learn from your experience making this film/program? As a first-time feature director, I feel that my experience in making this film has been invaluable and all-encompassing, and the question would rather be, “What didn’t I learn from making this film?!” One of the most important things I learned was the value and necessity of building trust and confidence with a large cast of characters. To capture the vital story elements of this complex story, I needed to build strong relationships with the legal team, experts, youth plaintiffs, parents and family members. Additionally, there were unique challenges working with children and minors and needing the parents and families to be “on board” with the story and the commitments. This was critical to the success of the film. I now know more about government malfeasance when it comes to the climate crisis than I ever thought I wanted to. The research phase of the film was long and extensive, and I took a deep dive into, not just the actual content that we were researching, but also archival research, fair use, licensing, and proper logging and documentation for E&O insurance. I experienced the true value of working with a composer to create an original score for a feature film - a score that does not overshadow the story, yet provides the emotional cues and audio journey that is essential to the strength of the story. As a director, I realized that building a strong team is essential to the success of the film. Hiring the right editor(s) to collaborate with on bringing to life the story I had been envisioning for years was incredible. Having a strong producing team working with me on everything from research, fundraising, production, and post production allowed me the creative space I needed to focus on directing. I also learned that the right partnerships with co-production companies can make all the difference. It feels scary and unsettling to relinquish complete control over a project that has been your baby for a number of years, but the value added by the right partner (in our case Vulcan Productions) is what can make the completion of a film a true success.  Photo Courtesy of YOUTH v GOV Q: How do you approach storytelling? Films that allow for character development by letting vérité scenes drive the story have been an inspiration and an aspiration for how I wanted to tackle “YOUTH v GOV.” For me, some aspirational films include “Mind The Gap,” “Life Animated,” “Knock Down The House,” and “The Cove.” Of course, there are narrative films with amazing through-lines of corruption told through a personal narrative, such as “All The President’s Men” and “Spotlight.” Using “Cutie and the Boxer” as a good example, we as an audience very quickly become immersed in the characters’ world and in their relationship. What starts out as a bio-pic about Ushio Shinohara becomes a love story with his wife Noriko that drives the story. I love the fact that her character, which was unassuming at the beginning, becomes such a central piece to the story and is critically essential. I thought about this a lot as I watched how my characters grew and developed over the course of four years of filming. Some of them were quiet and unassuming in the beginning, but truly became central pieces of the story. Although “YOUTH v GOV” is about a monumental, legal battle, it is more about the journey the young characters have been on as they take ownership over their constitutional rights and hold their government accountable. The films I connect with as a viewer are ones that take me behind the doors and into the lives of the characters, allowing for empathy and understanding and sometimes even frustration and consternation. It’s the stories of real people making the world go around that, for me, are the ones that need telling. Q: What impact do you hope this film/program will have? Throughout history, social justice movements have required visionaries and activists, and some of the most meaningful social changes have been sparked by the actions of young people. We are once again at a point in history when youth are rising up and demanding change, from gun reform to racial justice to climate justice. While young people around the world are taking to the streets and fighting for their rights, the youth plaintiffs featured in this film are fighting for their futures in our country’s highest courts. And we believe their story has the potential to change how we think about climate change and how we address this critical issue. Young people are visionaries; they’re not afraid of change. They are already embracing the technological advances that our country needs to make the transition to a fossil-free future. While today’s youth are utilizing social media and technology to drive movement on issues that they care about, we aim to encourage them also to be engaged in our democracy and to hold their elected officials accountable, including those who aren’t yet old enough to vote. We hope the film will help elevate their voices and encourage them to create needed changes. To date, most “climate” campaigns have focused on behavior change, but the YOUTH v GOV impact campaign makes clear that society cannot rely on this alone if we are to prevent the worst of the climate crisis. Judicial systems - in the United States and in other countries - exist to provide relief when actions by governments are harming their own citizens. As we see in the film, our government played a foundational role in creating the climate crisis. The story and the campaign provide a powerful opportunity to educate and activate audiences about their rights and what they can do to defend them, making connections between government responsibility, our constitutional rights, the role of the courts in the climate crisis, and the importance of citizen democracy. After many months of landscape analysis and consultation with climate movement experts, the goal of the campaign is to shine a spotlight on the U.S. government’s historical role in creating the climate crisis, and to provide young people with the inspiration to act and avenues and resources to hold their governments and elected officials accountable on the climate crisis. Q: Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share? I think the entire crew would agree that the moments in the courtroom were unexpectedly compelling and riveting. Being physically present to feel the tension and excitement in the courtroom, and witnessing Julia Olson, the lead attorney, bring unbelievable mastery of storytelling, poise, and fact upon fact before the judges, was incredible. Equally incredible was witnessing the legal arguments of the Department of Justice attorneys, who while admitting that climate change is real and an urgent problem, also basically denied any responsibility by the government in a) creating the crisis and b) providing a solution. The day that the trial was scheduled to take place (and put on hold by the Supreme Court) in October 2019 was a devastating day for the plaintiffs and the legal team. There were a lot of emotions swirling, with tears, frustration, anger, and disappointment. It was amazing to see these young people come together as a “family” and find ways to support each other through that grief. They demonstrated their true strength and courage that day, showing up to a courthouse full of hundreds of supporters, and encouraging those people to continue supporting and providing them with inspiration and hope. Q: Any fun facts about the film/program, the subject matter or the production crew that might surprise the Audience? Our team was truly global and we are proud of the fact that we had figured out how to work remotely, through Zoom, well before the Covid pandemic ever started. It also comes as a surprise to most filmmakers we meet at other festivals that our team is not based out of major film meccas or cities. We have all figured out how to work from regions of the country that provide the quality of life that we are all seeking - Bozeman, MT; Boulder, CO; Salida, CO; Friday Harbor, WA; and New Zealand. Q: Anything else you would like people to know? As leaders in the youth climate movement, the twenty-one plaintiffs of Juliana v. The United States of America represent the diversity of American youth impacted by the climate crisis. They hail from 10 states: Florida, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Louisiana, and New York. These film characters encompass cultural, economic and geographic diversity and many come from marginalized communities, serving as beacons of hope for those who do not have a platform to share their own stories. They are African-American, Indigenous, white, bi- racial, and LGBTQ, and their diversity speaks not only to the impacts of climate change, but to the inclusion required if we are to build a better and more just future together. These young people are activists, students, artists, musicians, and farmers, and their stories are universal.  Photo Courtesy of YOUTH v GOV Q: What next? Since our film festival premiere at DocNYC in November 2020, we have screened at 28 film festivals across the United States, and have been programmed at another 15, at present count. We are very excited about some of the festivals that are tapping into marginalized communities on the frontlines of climate impacts. In September, we are bringing on an exciting, young, and diverse impact team (YEA! Impact - Young Entertainment Activists) to help run and manage our impact campaign, which will be focused on government accountability with the climate crisis. We are planning to launch our educational distribution this fall and also will be working with Good Docs and our impact team at YEA! Impact to organize community screenings. We do not yet have commercial distribution, but are eager to find a home for this film, where folks around the world will be able to view this compelling story and be inspired to take action. Q: What were some of the specific editing challenges you had to address? Editing YOUTH v GOV was a strong collaborative effort between me, as the director, and our wonderful editors Lyman Smith and Tony Hale. To launch the edit, we came together as a teen for a month at the Jacob Burns Film Center as part of my filmmaking residency. Both editors were selected because of their skill in complex storylines, as well as their ability to let each character’s authenticity come to the forefront to create a compelling story. Tony had an incredible knack for digging into an enormous volume of the individual plaintiff’s stories (the main characters) and finding their throughlines, while masterfully bringing emotion, humor, genuineness, and context to the screen. His editing beautifully told the story of who these characters were, what their lives at home were like, and why they each were in this fight for climate justice. Lyman had the daunting task of weaving together a very complex legal case, with a plethora of legal terms, procedures, and courtroom moments, with a wealth of historical evidence that added credence to the legal claims and what the youth stories were depicting. In addition to the court case and the plaintiff stories, it became clear that I needed to tell the historical piece of the story for the audience to understand the case. This became the biggest challenge throughout the project – how do I weave together three very distinct story lines into one coherent story? I knew that each of these pieces played a role and were equally important parts of the story, but for a long time it felt like I was writing three different films. The historical story is told from an investigative journalistic perspective. Together with my co-producer, Liz Smith, we spent two years researching government and news video and audio archives, interviewing subjects, pouring over documents and testimonies, and compiling a long list of actions taken by the government that I was able to weave into a narrative of the lawsuit and evolving character stories. We relied very heavily on graphic animation to depict the historical evidence, along with recollections and interviews from experts, former government employees and scientists, and whistleblowers. In order to address the challenge of the overall narrative, together with my editors, we came up with a strategy of telling the story in a three-act structure that paralleled the three elements of standing in a constitutional lawsuit - proving the plaintiff has been harmed, proving the defendant has caused the harm, and proving the courts can provide the remedy. This framework allowed for us to sew the various pieces of the complicated story together in a way that was always in service of moving the case forward. I had a clear vision of the film I wanted to make, giving equal weight to the personal stories, legal case, and historical evidence, all of which were vital to telling the story of the Juliana vs. The United States case accurately. Both editors worked very closely with me to bring the story I had been developing and shooting for four years to fruition. The artistry that both Tony and Lyman brought to the project helped to create an emotional, visually appealing, and cohesive story which, despite its complexity, is poised to move the hearts of viewers. Q: What do you feel is most important to remember when conveying information via film? We know that audience attention span can be limited. In fact, studies have shown that we humans have an average attention span that’s less than a goldfish (8.25 seconds), so we knew that the complex legal terms that we wanted the audience to understand would have to be visually appealing. By using graphic animations, we were able to relay details about the lawsuit that might be difficult for an audience to follow and make the information more easily digestible. Through the use of graphic animations, we were able to relay the complicated elements of this case – the three elements of “standing” in a lawsuit; standing declarations; and climate recovery plans. Also, the graphic animations were a vital tool in laying out the intricate history of the government’s actions in the climate crisis including reports, news articles, archival footage, and audio recordings. Obviously we had high ambitions and expectations of our audience with the content of YOUTH v GOV. As the director, I wanted the viewers to come away with a better understanding of how our government works, that our judicial system is essential, and it is imperative that we are civically engaged. But I knew the heart of the film still needed to be the human connection. The plaintiffs and their stories were the sugar needed in order to serve up the dose of medicine. |
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