A recent study by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that more than 6 in 10 people across all countries and territories surveyed want more information about climate change. With more than a billion adults knowing little to nothing about the biggest existential challenge facing humanity, raising awareness among the public about climate science is critical.
Climate negotiations and publishing urgent reports have got us so far, but as the outcomes of COP26 have demonstrated, we continue to lack the global political will for bold action at the pace and scale that is needed to address the climate crisis. As cultural creators, we can take action by unleashing brilliant creative storytelling to meaningfully connect with more communities; Stories which challenge & inspire audiences to hold our leaders to account with a transition that keeps global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.
Amitav Ghosh, author
The Great Derangement
To meet this challenge, Doc Society has launched a Climate Story Unit to support a wave of transformative climate storytelling from around the world.
We aren’t looking for the silver bullet film that will work for everyone, rather we believe we need a multitude of storytelling “as diverse as the ecosystems we seek to save” (props to filmmaker Michael Premo for coining this phrase). We actively welcome stories that will resonate in specific regions and engage audiences who have not felt part of the climate movement; Stories that seed new norms and beliefs and offer us visions of a climate just future. To read about our theory of change on climate storytelling in detail and the narratives and perspectives we are prioritising, check out the reports from the UK & US Climate Story Labs.
Over the past eighteen months we’ve regranted over $1 million in production and impact grants to creative storytelling projects; feature docs, shorts, web series, animations, podcasts and a docudrama - take a look at the projects below. We will continue to add additional information as each project moves into distribution and launches their impact campaigns with civil society partners. We will also be sharing insights and case studies as we go to inspire more storytellers to lean in.
If you’d like to join a Climate Story Lab in your region - keep an eye on upcoming editions here and sign up to the Doc Society newsletter.
We can’t wait to hear from you.
Mid Length Comedy Special set in the USA
Directed by Elijah Karriem
Produced by Hip Hop Caucus
Supported with
Impact Funding
Comedy drama set in the Philippines
Directed by Séan Devlin
Produced by Amanda Nicole
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Web series helmed by Gael Garcia Bernal & Yásnaya Aguilar. Set in Mexico
Directed by Santiago Maza Stern
Produced by Pablo Montaño
Supported with
Impact Funding
Feature doc set in the UK
Directed by Becky Hutner
Produced by Lindsay Lowe
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in the rural midwest of America
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Short doc set in the UK
Directed by Tanya Ramsurrun & Louis VI
Supported with
Development Funding
Feature documentary set in India
Directed by Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in the Philippines
Directed by Karl Malakunas
Produced by Marty Syjuco, Michael Collins & Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Mid length single doc set in the UK
Directed by Harriet Bird
Produced by Steve Smith, Fergus Haycock, Dov Freedman & Charlie Russell
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feminist Indigenous Podcast published from Colombia
Created by Ana Maytik Avirama & Daniela Fontaine
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in the UK
Directed by Maia Kenworthy & Elena Sánchez Bellot
Produced by Kat Mansoor
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Children's animation based on Nicola Davies’ children’s book of the same name
Created by Chi Tai
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in Brazil
Directed by Juliana Curi
Produced by João Henrique Kurtz, Juliana Curi, Lívia Cheibub, Martina Sönksen & Emerson Pontes/Uyra Sodoma.
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in Denmark
Directed by Phie Ambo
Produced by Malene Flindt Pedersen
Supported with
Impact Funding
Feature documentary set in Brazil
Co-produced with the Uru-eu-wau-wau community.
Supported with
Production
Impact Funding