A greener entertainment industry

Green is obviously our favourite colour here at Greenlit, so it’s only natural that we want to support the progress being made in green, or environmentally-friendly, filmmaking. So let’s discuss how to support greener, better entertainment industry.

Alfie Knight is a campaign organiser with Film Strike for Climate, a grassroots movement of filmmakers that aspires to make socio-ecological impacts just as valued as audience ratings. He has worked on the productions of indie films and major television series, such as Sex Education. 

I finished work on Sex Education, and I was doing a bit of soul searching, wondering what I wanted to do in the industry. Around this time too, I got involved with Extinction Rebellion in the lead up to their two weeks of action in April 2019, and I found it really meaningful. I found a sense a purpose. I knew the September 20th global climate strikes were coming up, and I knew I had my experience working in the film & TV industry. I thought,  ‘How can I get my industry engaged with the strikes?’ So I teamed up with some industry guild groups. Not long after, I had the idea for the Film Strike for Climate poster… and the rest is history.

I think what we did worked because it was a sort of love letter to Film and TV, rather than a protest. It was more us saying ‘You are already doing great stuff. Can we work on partnering together to make a real stand against the climate crisis?’ And the response was great: not only from guild groups, but soon wildlife filmmakers and other areas of the industries were joining us. 

There are the more obvious green actions, like moving away from plastic water bottles or generators on set, and that’s all great, but I think shaming people to be greener can sometimes have the adverse effect of making people reluctant to take further action. We need to be doing this together as an industry. It’s hard work. It requires patience. We’re not going to be able to solve the plastics on set issue if cast and crew, above and below the line, don’t feel valued and heard. We need a better, more open, more empathetic environment behind the camera on every set in order for people to come together and make change.

We’re coming off of COP26, which we were very active at. (Editor’s Note: Watch this video to see their efforts on the Global Day for Climate Justice.) But in short, we want to keep up our grassroots efforts. We have some ideas on how to help facilitate and support organisations within the industry continue to transform their practices. 

I’m proud of the progress that the industry has made, but we still need a diversity of storytellers—that is where so much of the power comes from. There’s still an issue about telling other people’s stories. We need more authenticity. We need to empower people from marginalised and oppressed communities who have important stories to contribute.

How do you talk about your film with potential investors, distributors, or other industry executives? In this interactive online panel, we’ll talk through strategies to distil your story, prepare an effective pitch deck, and give a memorable pitch. Wednesday at 7pm GMT. Free RSVP.

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Friendship, a play about standing stones, the solar system, and putting one foot in front of the other.