David and Greta In Conversation: The Planetary Crisis available to watch now on YouTube
By Wildscreen
21 October 2020
Wildscreen Festival 2020 streamed this fascinating conversation between two of the most influential figures of our time - Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg - on the evening of Tuesday 20th October.
Following this, Wildscreen is tremendously proud to share this momentous occasion with the wider public and reach a global audience. It is available to view now on the Wildscreen Festival YouTube Channel.
As a charity Wildscreen Festival’s goal is to convene the best photographers, filmmakers and creative professionals with the most committed conservationists to create compelling stories about the natural world that the inspire the wider public to experience it, feel part of it and protect it. Sharing this very special conversation with the general public is incredibly important.
Sir David and Greta discussed the most pressing issue of our age - the climate emergency. There was a very special warmth between the two of them as they honestly discussed their opinions of where are now and where we need to be. They asked each other questions about what we can do to empower ourselves to look after our planet and their experiences of communicating the impacts humans have and are continuing to make on the environment.
David and Greta also gave a nod to the wildlife filmmaking community, commending their vital work and the importance of the conservation stories told through their films. They also discussed the significance of Wildscreen as a festival as Greta reflected that it was watching natural history films that introduced her to the climate emergency where she stated: “Films and movies have the power to open our eyes.”
One of the attendees of the festival, which went virtual this year, commented: “It was an absolute honour to have been able to hear two of our biggest inspirations as a society, in conversation about the climate crisis, activism, and conservation. Wildscreen doing an outstanding job of bringing the natural world and important environmental issues to our homes during the pandemic.”
Alastair Fothergill, Co-director, “David Attenborough A Life On Our Planet” said: “This is the very first time that Sir David and Greta have had the chance for a detailed conversation and it certainly does not disappoint.”
Sue Martineau, interim Wildscreen CEO said: “We are so proud that two of the most famous figures in the fight against climate change have agreed to take time out of their exceptionally busy schedules to appear at Wildscreen Festival 2020. The brave and powerful voices of the iconic naturalist Sir David Attenborough and the climate and environmental activist Greta Thunberg is a compelling gift and couldn’t be more pertinent in our current global crisis.”
Our key take aways were, we need to always be open to new ideas, stop wasting stuff (in all ways), go vegan and we need to elect peope that will do the right thing by the planet.
Sir David Attenborough, Naturalist and broadcaster.
Sir David grew up in Leicestershire where his love of natural history began. He studied at the University of Cambridge, working at an educational publishing house not long after graduating. In 1952, Sir David completed a training programme at the BBC and went on to build a career as a television producer. One of his first wildlife series was Zoo Quest, in which live animals were filmed in the wild and in zoos. This show proved enormously popular and widened the scope of the educational programming offered by the BBC.
In 1965 Sir David became controller of the BBC's second television channel, BBC Two. Between 1968 and 1972 he was also director of television programming, and it was after this he resigned and began working on a freelance basis. Since then he has been the face of seminal natural history television programmes for the BBC as well as for Silverback Films and other independent production companies in Bristol.
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet, a film by Sir David, now streaming globally on Netflix, outlines his witness statement, vision for the future and how we can work with nature to overturn the climate emergency.
Greta Thunberg.
Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, founded a movement known as Fridays For Future (also known as School Strike for Climate) in 2018. She would strike every day in the lead up to the Swedish election and caught the world's attention in the process. She has been striking every week since, and as of mid-October 2020 she was on week 112 of her strike. She first learned of the climate emergency at the age of eight through watching natural history films. Greta has continued with her environmental activism during the pandemic via a digital strike and has made a return to school. Her film, “I Am Greta,” which makes an appeal to act now to stop climate change before it’s too late, is due to be released on Hulu in the UK on 16 October and in the USA on 13 November.
Wildscreen is an award-winning not-for-profit conservation organisation. Our goal is to convene the world’s best filmmakers and photographers with the most committed conservationists to create compelling stories about the natural world and so inspire the wider public to experience it, feel part of it and protect it.
We are powered by an ecosystem of projects:
Wildscreen Exchange - a unique global hub, empowering conservation organisations by connecting them with world-leading filmmakers and photographers to create ground- breaking communications about our natural world.
Wildscreen Festival - the internationally renowned festival that celebrates and advances the art of natural world storytelling. The Wildscreen Festival takes place from the 19 -23 October 2020, supported by a three-month online film library from September to December.
Wildscreen Network - a membership organisation for the international wildlife film industry with over 380+ individual members and 25+ production and kit company members.
Wildscreen is based in Bristol, UK – the south west of England city nicknamed ‘Green Hollywood’ because it produces more natural history film and TV than any other city in the world. www.wildscreen.org
Since the late 1990s Wildlife-film.com has been the leading source of information for the wildlife filmmaking industry worldwide. For over twenty years the site has been Google's number one ranking site for 'wildlife film' and related searches. Our site is viewed in over 195 countries. Our newsletter, Wildlife Film News, is read every month by thousands of people involved in wildlife filmmaking - from broadcasters and producers, to cameramen - we encourage readers to submit their news. We also serve as an online resource for industry professionals and services. Find producers, editors, presenters and more in our Freelancer section, and find out about festivals, training and conservation in Organisations. We encourage amateur and professional freelancers to join our network and welcome all wildlife-film related organisations to join our team.
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