Fri March 10 — 1:30 pm

1 hr 23 min
PG
Documentary, Human Rights & Social Justice

This film looks at how an unlikely bunch of grassroots activists changed the face of climate-change protest in Britain forever. It’s 2018, and former organic farmer Roger Hallam decides that saving the planet wasn’t going happen through petitions, compromise, or conciliation. It was time to make a nuisance of himself and hit the powerful where they hurt by disrupting the economy. And so Extinction Rebellion was born. By April 2019, the movement was strong enough to block traffic across central London for several days, and over 1000 supporters were arrested—Hallam’s key metric for success.

The film-makers chronicle the inner tensions at XR with fairness and sensitivity – this is a documentary that you feel you can trust. Roger Hallam’s laser focus and stubbornness, so vital in starting a movement from scratch, begins to look self-righteous and blinkered. They provide crucial insight into the two sides of activism, planning direct action through civil disobedience and pursuing political engagement with Ministers and others.

First-time filmmakers Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot were in on the ground floor before even Hallam knew what Extinction Rebellion could achieve. They focus on several activists, including international climate lawyer Farhana Yamin and many first-time protesters, among them Roger’s daughter Savannah Lovelock. It’s an empowering testament to the impact of collective action and taking an individual stand, but also a cautionary tale about the stresses of this kind of work.