Movies focused on the environment seem to be flooding our screens this year.
We had David Attenborough’s Ocean, then Wilding… and now we have Future Council, the final piece in the holy trinity.
Damon Gameau’s documentary is a rich explosion of colour, making it seem at odds with the gloom and doom of climate change. However, this vividness isn’t meant to downplay the seriousness of the planet’s environmental crisis. Instead, it suggests a sense of renewal and hope.
While the film’s whimsy is enhanced by special effects and lush location shots, you don’t feel like you’re being riled up with false aspirations. There’s very little glossing over the hurdles the cast are facing. So Future Council offers the best kind of hope – one anchored in reality.
Gameau is akin to the kindly cool uncle, taking eight children, aged 10 – 15, on a very magic school bus like excursion across Europe. His goal isn’t so much to explain what climate change is but to teach his young padawans about how climate change fits into the corporate, consumerist agenda.
Gameau explains the concept brilliantly, illustrating the process with a painfully adorable creation Groth.
Groth according to Gameau is, “Growth without the “W” for wisdom”. It is the unbridled growth of an exchange system that initially benefitted humans. However, thanks to rising consumerism and the unregulated use of fossil fuels, Groth is now a monster wreaking havoc on our planet.
Cutesy stories aside, Gameau is the children’s guiding light while giving them autonomy. It is refreshing to see an adult treat children, almost like peers. He doesn’t use the “I know better” card as adults conveniently slip into.
Gameau gently counsels them through their internal council meetings. He also chaperones them into meetings with some of the biggest companies on the planet. And just like a chaperone would, he does not take an active role in the proceedings.
This includes not saying a thing when Skye, one of the children, defiantly calls out Nestle – straight to the face of the head of their public affairs. It is a tense moment. Watching Skye berate Nestle for being the third biggest polluter and calling them a disgrace took my breath away.
It was one of many powerful moments in the movie. Powerful moments driven by the kids.
The kids are beacons of hope, all incredibly articulate, bright and passionate. I don’t recall what the centre of my universe was at their age, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the environment.
And that highlights how much more pressing climate issues have become over the last few decades. It affects them deeply. Deeply enough for Ruby to craft a haunting ode and CC to excuse herself from a meeting because the emotions were getting too much for her small body to handle.
The most powerful Eureka moment for me was this quote from Gameau:
“While our actions are stealing their future, our inaction is stealing their present”
If seeing the frustration and despair of the young activists isn’t enough, this quote is the gut punch we all need.
As Joaquin implores in the intro “Clean up your s***t”.
Oh, and go watch this movie. It’s the very least we adults can do for the sake of our planet and children…. for a start.
Future Council is now showing at Luna Palace Cinemas. If you know a young eco-warrior who might be interested in joining this movement, check out their website here.