"The future of the planet is in our hands right now, and it’s just unthinkable that we fail to face up to this," says Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in a new documentary film premiered during COP26.
Scotland: Our Climate Journey tells the remarkable story of one nation’s journey to turn the tides on climate change. Mapping how far Scotland has come, as one of the leading nations in climate change policy, and how far it still has to go. The new feature-length film takes viewers to the heart of a campaign which began over a decade ago, with the formation of the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition and the eventual passing of the Climate Change [Scotland] Act 2009, before branching out to explore real-world examples of the change that this legislation helped to inspire across Scotland.
Presented by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society [RSGS] in collaboration with Balfour Beatty, this moving, insightful, and encouraging documentary is narrated by a wide range of individuals from across the country, offering different perspectives, but all contributing in the battle against climate change. As the film uncovers the journey of activists, policymakers, politicians, industries, communities, farmers, and scientists, we learn that Scotland already possesses most of the tools and expertise needed to fight the climate crisis.
The film premiered at Dundee Contemporary Arts on November 11, 2021, hosted by the RSGS and attended by a host of individuals from across Scotland and beyond, including academics, environmentalists, broadcasters, the filmmakers, and the documentary’s contributors. The film was very well-received, meeting a spontaneous round of applause as the credits rolled, with dozens of encouraging comments received since:
“[The film] is such a huge tribute to the work of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, and many others at a national and global level—inspirational people who are seeing possibilities and can clearly see the way forward.”
“Very uplifting, and I thought refreshingly optimistic... It was so well filmed as well, very sleek, professionally presented: powerful but not overdone.”
“The film and the journey we have taken, it does give hope. It gave me a chance to reflect personally of the things I have done to help this work; a moment to stop and think; to see the foundations for the actions we are on now.”
“Absolutely superb. I found it to be insightful, informative, and entertaining. More than this though, what I absolutely adored was that for me the tone of the film's story also captured the values and sensibilities of Scotland's culture supremely well.”
Speaking on the film, RSGS CEO Mike Robinson said: “Scotland of course has a way to go in the fight against climate change. No country has yet done enough to tackle this global issue. But whilst we still have a long way to go, we still need to take time to acknowledge the change we have made so far. This documentary brilliantly depicts the journey of Scotland in setting targets and building a response, and asks contributors to reflect on the future and its net zero targets. In what can so often feel like an uphill battle, I hope it will encourage and invigorate all of those who are doing the right thing to keep pushing, and inspire others to follow them.”
The film is the second feature created by Scout Studio duo Finbar O’Sullivan and Ted Simpson, who travelled the length and breadth of the country, from local communities in Glasgow to rural communities in Aberdeenshire and from the offices of Holyrood to the streets of Perth and Dundee.
"Making this film has been an incredible experience,” says producer Finbar O’Sullivan. “When myself and Ted began production early in 2021, we realised very quickly that the scope of the stories that we could cover was enormous. One of the most difficult parts of the whole process was deciding who to visit and which stories to tell, there were so many truly amazing options. Having had the opportunity to travel throughout Scotland, meeting people from all walks of life, all working hard and contributing in their own way to the climate fight, was nothing short of inspirational. We hope that people watching this film will leave it with the same sense of hope and encouragement for our shared future that we felt as we were making it."
Director Ted Simpson commented: "This felt like a really important film to make. Scotland has so much to be proud of in the fight against climate change, with genuine lessons that can be shared worldwide. But there is also so much work to be done. For me, finding the balance between these amazing stories, and amplifying the voices who are showing the way for future progress, was a fascinating challenge, and a real privilege. I can’t wait for audiences to meet some of the characters we filmed with during COP26, and as well as a sense of optimism for the journey so far, I hope they really get a sense of the very real action that’s happening all across Scotland in this most important of issues. There is so much to explore in this realm and we’re certainly inspired to keep finding and sharing these stories in the future.”
Finally, Mike Robinson said: “We are already being approached by communities, businesses and schools who are really keen to run screenings of this film. Please get in touch with us at the RSGS if you would be interested in doing so too, or register through the website at www.scotlandsclimatejourney.co.uk/, where you can also watch the trailer, and register for news regarding upcoming screenings.”
For more information on Scout Studio and their upcoming projects you can visit their website at www.scout-studio.co.uk.
Images provided by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
