3 - The 11th Hour

This is a bit of an interlude to my initial timeline of events, but it's really exciting and quite special so...

I was invited to a pre-screening of a new climate change film called The 11^th Hour on Monday evening. It is a special release because of the severity of the issue, so unlink normal films which release on DVD, then satellite and finally terrestrial (many years later), this film is on limited release in the West End before a television premiere on Channel 4, in May!

I had a great evening meeting the footprint friends gang and then watching this great new film with a real focus and visual motive.

MY REVIEW:

A fast paced eye-opener, though slightly overwhelming. 4 Star ****

The 11^th Hour describes the last moment when change is possible. The idea that we are ‘in the 11^th hour and at 11:59' is central to the movie. The whole film is intended to be a catalyst for people to take action and change their ways before it is too late.

Drought.  Famine.  Severe flooding.  Record rainfall.  Hurricanes.  Acid rain.  The highest average temperatures in recorded history.  Catastrophe is reported on the nightly news as isolated incidents.  But are these incidents isolated, or pieces of a larger global puzzle that could unlock humanity's future? 

Like An Inconvenient Truth, this film is a documentary style with interviews from various important people. The film began with a shocking sequence of footage showing recent environmental disasters, before a lengthy session of facts and general information about the causes of global warming as given by top scientists such as Stephen Hawking and former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev. Throughout the explanation of the causes and in an attempt at proving that the warming is caused by humans, there are many references to globalisation and its associated environmental problems and well as using visual imagery of nature and its beauty to show us what is being destroyed. Towards the end, the film attempts to deal with the solutions of the problems shown. In an effort to ensure viewers do not come out feeling depressed through the sheer scale of the problem, the film tries to make us feel that we can do something. Interviews with sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau along with plans for use of renewable energy on a larger scale help reassure and guide people to a cleaner, greener, sustainable future for all. In the end, the main message is that we should all take responsibility for our actions and now that we are so close to experiencing a global disaster, we should all work together to tackle the problem.

I thought the film was very good and a great way to get the message across to as many people as possible. I think their unique release strategy means that lots more people will be able to watch it and the Channel 4 showing will greatly help to raise awareness. I would definitely recommend the film to all budding environmentalists, but for those who are not yet convinced, or would like to take small steps to change their lifestyle, the film is slightly intense and only briefly concentrates on solutions. This is a minor point, but may well affect those who view it and may decide to turn off after a while after being totally overwhelmed!

Well worth a watch if you can catch it at the Apollo in Regents Street running from this Friday (21^st March) or on Channel 4 in May!

we are the generation that can change the world