By Bailey Pennick
It's well known that here at the Sundance Institute we're committed to championing independent storytelling in all forms. By supporting the next generation of artists, we're thrilled to see their work changing the world that we live in.
During this year's Festival, we're hoping to inspire future filmmakers and audiences alike with thoughtful conversations and panels about how to use art to create the change we want to see in the world. Calling All Artists: The Climate Crisis Is Recruiting - an online event presented by Women at Sundance and Produced by Doc Society, Climate Story Unit - captured the hearts and minds of its attendees with immediate and tactical ways that artists can help Climate Change activists and organizations gain traction through storytelling.
Moderated by Doc Society's Megha Agrawal Sood (Head of Climate Story Unit) and Emily Wanja (Global Community Manager, Climate Story), the discussion included thought leaders from across the globe: Andrea Ixch u (Maya K'iche' leader and filmmaker, Guatemala), Geeta Persad (climate scientist, USA), Vanessa Nakate (climate justice activist, Uganda), and Farhana Yamin (climate legal advisor, United Kingdom).
The hour-plus conversation ran the gamut on how to best address climate change within all forms of art and storytelling. Below, find five takeaways from the powerful discussion.
1. Now is the time to start telling climate crisis stories. I think the reality is that no matter what your art is about, climate change is already in it because we are all already living in a climate change world. But I think we also have to recognize that art is really critical for helping us build the backbone to take on the tremendous and immediate work of addressing climate change. Art is how we understand and process our lived experience which is part of why it's so important that everybody's lived experience be included in that. If we can reveal the presence of climate change in our art, it'll really give us a way to look climate change in the eye, and to really grapple with what it means for the people and the the things that we love instead of, you know, having this sort of vague sense of foreboding but not really being able to to process it fully. We need that more than ever, and art and storytelling is really where that can come from. - Geeta Persad
The best time that artists would have gotten involved in the climate conversation would have been decades ago, and I think the next best time is right now We cannot have art on a dead planet, we cannot have creativity on a dead planet or storytelling on a dead planet, so I think that there is so much power in using the creativity of artists around the world in centering voices of activists from the most affected areas; in centering solutions you know that are needed or solutions that are already being implemented in different parts of the world. So I think that it would be wonderful if artists around the world understood that this is a global challenge that affects all of us. If we have a dead planet then we won't have any more and yet, we all need a piece of art in our life, so, while we still have a living planet, let us use art, let us use creativity, let us use everything that we have to ensure that we can have a more beautiful future for all of us. - Vanessa Nakate
2. We need to break out of bad climate crisis narratives. I would say [we need to] shift from talking about the future. Climate is always framed as a future problem, but it's not, so shift to talking about the past. [Also] locate yourself in the present and how you got here. Through that simple shift, you will begin to connect with our own histories, which are complex and which have resulted in nature being decimated for hundreds of years - as a result of very deep systems, which cannot be tackled through the market now alone [Additionally], In all our climate stories and dialogues, [we need to] focus on justice and not on emissions. We tend to look at climate as a very emission-centric, you know, supply-centric problem, but, actually, if you look at its impacts, and you look at justice and you look at who is emitting and who's impacted, you will get a nuance and much more balanced and much more inclusive picture. - Farhana Yamin
[The climate crisis narrative] that I've heard recently that's really started grating on me is this idea that we only have 10 years to save the world. Let me tell you why I find that a little bit grating: I think one issue is that it gives the impression that if we don't do it in 10 years then it's not worth it. And, you know, I think it's really important that we recognize that it is always going to be worth it to do whatever we can to make things better. Having that kind of cliff makes it easy for pessimists - or for people who prefer the status quo - to sort of throw up their hands and say, well that's impossible so let's not even try.
Then I think there's also the flip side of it, where, when you put 10 years on it, that means we have 10 years to get serious, so we can wait out the clock for the next 10 years. But I think one of the most important things is that it perpetuates this idea that solving climate change is going to be a one-and-done thing. It's really important to recognize that we're going to keep making decisions that affect the climate that we live in, and so what we really need is to create a more inclusive, just, and thoughtful system of institutions and legal and economic frameworks. We need to resource the communities that are already doing the work and bring them more into the center, so that we can transform our entire way of behaving as a world, so that we can sustainably approach our impact on the climate system.
So, I think it's really importan
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
By Bailey Pennick
