Phoebe Dynevor and Bella Ramsey star in the new short film “More Flames,” from Adam McKay‘s Yellow Dot Studios and Climate Spring, which marks the launch of the #FlipTheScript campaign aimed at changing the narrative around the climate crisis.
Alongside Dynevor and Ramsey, “More Flames” also features Amar Chadha-Patel (“Slip,” “Willow”) and was written and directed by Jack Cooper Stimpson (“Extinction”). The comedy-satire follows the lead actor of a fictional film-project (Dynevor), who challenges the narrative they are committing to screen, leading to a difficult conversation with their director (Chadha-Patel). Producers include Jamie Gamache for Lowkey Films and Michelle Schechter for Vantage Point.
According to a press release, the short film “aims to inspire a conversation around the stories we tell in our film and television culture in a time of climate and nature crisis. The hope is that the film will resonate with a broad range of viewers and act as a mechanism for inspiring talent engagement in a new wave of storytelling and a sense of possibility in addressing the climate crisis.”
The #FlipTheScript campaign already counts among its supporters Chadha-Patel, Green Rider Team, Will Attenborough, Danusia Samal, Fehinti Balogun, Paapa Essiedu and Ali Dowling. The initiative “spotlights the screen industry’s power to rewrite the dominant ‘doomsday’ narrative in our culture,” a press release states, noting that “the fear-based communications that are typically the way the issue is communicated are putting us all into a state of paralysis, further perpetuating the sense of inevitable doom.”
“In order for audiences to feel empowered to act on the climate crisis, they need to be shown the real root cases of the crisis (not about making everyone feel guilty but understanding the powers that are holding us back), and most crucially the route out of the chaos,” the release continues. “The new initiative aims to empower the leading screen talent to use their voices and platforms to tell the greatest story of our time — the story of transition away from climate chaos to regeneration.”
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“It’s clear that the film and TV industries have preoccupied themselves with providing audiences with escapism and have found it difficult to represent climate themes on-screen,” Stimpson said in a statement. “I hope that ‘More Flames’ speaks to that struggle and reminds us of the power of imaginative thinking and collaboration. We must ask difficult questions of ourselves and continue to talk about the climate and ecological crisis with empathy, humor and truthfulness.”
Added Lucy Stone, founder and executive director of Climate Spring, “The stories we tell matter. They shape how we see ourselves, what we collectively value, they allow us to walk in someone else’s shoes. This couldn’t be more important for the climate crisis, which requires us to imagine different ways of living. With this initiative we wish to spark a conversation about the role of film and TV storytelling in a time of climate change, and how we can successfully tell climate stories that shine a light on the pathways out of the crisis, and towards new visions of society.”
Staci Roberts-Steele, managing director and producer at Yellow Dot Studios, said: “We are extremely excited to partner with Climate Spring and filmmaker Jack Cooper Stimpson on a project addressing the current critical moment in the climate crisis. Yellow Dot is always ready to support the idea of going against the status quo and shaking up narratives in the climate movement. Storytelling is one of the main areas where we can view concepts from fresh angles and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with this incredible team.”
Watch “More Flames” and learn more about the #FlipTheScript campaign here.
Source Agencies
