Climate change film on the road
An award-winning climate change documentary made by Victoria University and Oxford University, is screening at a range of venues in Auckland this month. The premiere screening of the director’s broadcast cut of Thin Ice - The Inside Story of Climate Science was held in Auckland on September 6, with around 200 people packing the Academy Cinema. The event, which was hosted by Professor Mike Wilson, Victoria’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Science, doubled as the launch of an Auckland secondary school Thin Ice tour, which will see the film screening at six schools over the next few weeks.
The screening at the Academy was following by a panel discussion and question and answer session (Q&A) featuring Veronika Meduna (chair, Radio New Zealand), Malcolm Rands (Ecostore), Lucy Lawless (actress, activist), Niko Elsen (Generation Zero), Simon Lamb (Thin Ice director and Victoria scientist) and Sam Judd (Sustainable Coastlines). The film brought about laughter and contemplation as the scientists are portrayed in a wide variety of 'labs'—from Phil Jones' office threatening to drown him in piles of paper, to Simon Lamb dressed head to toe in a white boiler suit, while the Q&A drew out a wide variety of questions.
A significant part of the discussion focused on the difficulty of communicating science messages to the general public—particularly in the case of climate change—and the need to understand the scale and urgency of the problem. The need for a plan to achieve zero carbon emissions before the end of the century was a key message for the evening.
All panelists agreed it was important to communicate beyond the 'converted' to elicit a cultural shift that makes climate change mitigation politically acceptable, using messages that are inspirational, emotive and offer hope.On a practical level, all the panelists were keen to share solutions with the audience, such as joining in on conservation activities, signing a petition, making others aware of 'green' consumption practices, and changing transport habits.
While the full-length science documentary was launched in 2013, recent interest in the film has resulted in it edited to television-length for broadcast on American public television. Having screened on over 200 channels in the states since July, the Thin Ice team began to explore ways to have it screened in New Zealand.
Well-suited to educational settings, the Auckland Thin Ice Roadshow has been developed to take the film to secondary schools in Auckland over the next two weeks.The schools will act as hubs for students, families, community members beyond the school and for neighbouring schools to participate. The film will be screened with a Q&A panel discussion to follow.