ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
Driven by the climate crisis, five teenagers in New Zealand join the global student protests. But when challenged by Pasifika students the movement has to confront its racial prejudices to lead one of the biggest strikes in the country’s history.

SYNOPSIS
In 2019, students around the world held strikes, challenging us all to avert cataclysmic climate change. In Aotearoa New Zealand, The Rebel Film Collective had intimate access to meetings, students’ homes, and personal video diaries as the protest movement developed in very location-specific ways. Five main characters drive the story, rallying against anxiety, climate denial, and white privilege towards what was ultimately one of the largest strikes in national history.

In the small, coastal town Thames, 15 year olds Helena and Lillian battle with climate deniers and their mayor to acknowledge that rising sea levels will sink their streets. Near the country’s capital, 18 year old Sophie strives to bring the School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) national movement together, while running for council. In the biggest city, Auckland, SS4C local leader 17-year-old Luke is increasingly pushing towards nonviolent direct action. In South Auckland, 16 year old prize-winning performance poet Aigagaleifili forms a breakaway group to ensure that the devastation of climate change on Pacific nations is acknowledged. Ignoring it is genocide.

What, together, can they achieve?

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Niva Kay, Emily McDowell, Phil Stebbing
PRODUCER Niva Kay, Emily McDowell, Nia Phipps, Phil Stebbing
IMPACT PRODUCER Nia Phipps

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