Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery
Seventeen-year old activist Alec Loorz takes on the U.S. government. In an unprecedented legal filing, Loorz and youth from across that country that are members of iMatter — the climate group he founded — sued the U.S. government, calling upon the courts to put in place "Climate Recovery Plans" that will protect the atmosphere for future generations. Produced by WITNESS, Montana State University's MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking, Our Children's Trust and Kids v. Global Warming, the hope is that seeing and hearing from those who will be most affected by the fallout from climate change will inspire others to fight for justice. “Young people aren’t always heard,” Loorz says — but he’s trying to change that.
Among Giants
In 2008, a company called Green Diamond Resource Company began clear-cutting redwood trees in northern California’s McKay Tract, a lush and shadowy forest that was home to towering trees, tall ferns and wildlife. A group of activists responded by moving into the trees, setting up their lives in tarp structures in the lofty canopies among the trill of birdsong and the patter of rainfall. Among Giants focuses on one of the activists, Farmer, who has been living in the trees for three years and etches out a solitary and soggy existence based on faith and resistance. He hopes that, ultimately, his sacrifices will stave off the cut and preserve the forest that he has come to know as home. He says, “It’s not just about this one place, it’s about the whole area and really about the whole planet.”
KONY 2012
It was a social media sensation like no other. Invisible Children’s short film, KONY 2012, was released in March and spread like wildfire, lighting up Facebook and garnering approximately 100 million views around the world. The story is that of the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and the efforts of Jason Russell and Invisible Children to bring him to justice. Of course, the film’s success created its own backlash, and the nonprofit found itself in the middle of a media firestorm as KONY 2012 gathered more and more attention.