Taiwo Afolabi presented the conversation Eco-Films in Climate Action livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Wednesday 2 August at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 7 p.m. EAT (Nairobi, UTC + 3).
Since the first decade of the 21st century, Hollywood films have explored diverse challenges posed by climate change. In fact, eco-filmmakers seem to direct the blame around climate change on anthropocentrism and the rise of the capitalist economy. These films have centered on how climate change impacts more on rural indigenous communities, the politics of anthropocentric and capitalism, and the imperative of man’s revaluation of his relationship with the environment.
Interestingly, most films on ecology have been churned out of the Global North than from the Global South despite the South’s being affected more by the climate scourge. The films of James Cameron, such as Avatar and The Way of Water, and documentaries such as The Nigerian Oil Thief: The True Price of Crude Oil and Delta Blues, are examples of the Global North telling the story of the South. Thus, questions that emanate at this point are, what could be the reason for the dearth of themes of ecology in the cinema of the Global South? In what ways have the films produced in the Global South responded to the discourse of climate change? What impact can the eco-film genre make in the journey towards climate justice in the global south?
Angie Emurwon is an award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and a storytelling dramaturg for both stage and screen. She recently wrote and directed a 10-episode web series Enno Laavu (2023) that is currently in post-production; has directed 3 short films: Keycard (2021), LayLay (2019) and Sunday (2018); as well as 13 episodes of the Ugandan TV show Mama&Me (2021) on Pearl Magic/Mnet/DSTV. Her first short, Sunday, won Best East African Short (2019 MAAFF - Rwanda); 2nd Prize, Films by Women (2019 NWFF – Ghana), and Best National Short Film (2019 GIFF – Uganda), as well as screening at several festivals including the 2019 Durban International Film Festival - South Africa, and the 2019 Silicon Valley African Film Festival - USA. LayLay screened at the Durban International Film Festival and Ngalabi Short Film Festival - Uganda. While Keycard was selected for the April 2022 Indie Short Fest (Los Angeles International Film Festival) where the film received a Best Producer nomination for Douglas Dubois, Best Director (female) for Angie Emurwon, as well as winning the Outstanding Achievement Award for a Film Noir Short. Keycard was selected for the 2022 Sophie Short Film Awards (New York) where the film was nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Oyenbot), and won the Outstanding Styling Award for a short film (Guy Jarius Zziwa with Daphine Tukamushaba). Her radio plays The Cow Needs a Wife (2010) and Sunflowers behind a Dirty Fence (2012) have both won BBC Radio Drama awards, while her Climate Change Theatre Action commissioned short plays have been staged all over the world with the most recent, Initiation (2021), being among the 4 plays selected for the inaugural 2021 Kick-off event, Dispatch To The Future, at Central Park, New York. Angie is a storytelling resource for fellow filmmakers, and has mentored emerging screenwriters from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Germany through the Maisha Film Lab training program.
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