Cannes presents Cinema for Climate

For the first time, the Cannes film festival will take several actions to reduce its carbon footprint. Furthermore, the 74th edition of the Festival de Cannes will present a Cinema for the Climate program with seven films which are dealing with issues such as climate change and the collapse of biodiversity. In the French documentary Bigger Than Us,  filmmaker Flore Vasseur follows  a young Indonesian girl fighting against plastic pollution in her country, on a journey that takes her far from home. Co-produced by Marion Cotillard, Bigger Than Us shows young activists  fighting for climate, social justice and fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and access to food and education.

In La Croisade (The Crusade) by French director Louis Garrel, the children take the reins to protect the planet. This modern tale is about the alienation of adults from the concerns of children who want to save themselves. What it means to be a victim to global warming can be seen in Aïssa Maïga’s documentary Marcher sur l’eau (Above Water), which she shot in Niger. Overthere, a little girl must travel several kilometres for water every day. The film aso raises the question if access to water correlates with access to education for girls in Sub-Saharan African countries.

Six years after the documentary Demain (Tomorrow), which Cyril Dion co-directed with Mélanie Laurent, the French filmmaker travelled again around the world in order to find how problems can be solved. In Animal,  he accompanied two concerned teenagers who ask very smart questions to better understand the collapse of biodiversity and how concrete solutions can be found. In the shocking documentary Invisible Demons, Indian filmmaker Rahul Jain gives an insight in the pollution in New Delhi. With his camera,  he moves through this  ecological hell. A contempary documentary about the dangers of nuclear power comes from China. In I Am So Sorry,  Zhao Liang takes the audience on a journey from Chernobyl to Fukushima that makes the disaster seem tangible.

Meanwhile, the beauty of the world is highlighted in La Panthère des neiges by French filmmaker Marie Amiguet.  Accompanied by the wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and the adventure writer Sylvain Tesson, she set up her camera on the Tibetan Plateau to capture the silence, the passing of the days and the strength of nature.

The Cannes Film Festival takes place from July 6 to 17, 2021.

Illustration: © Official poster of the Cannes film festival