Published 25 August 2023
Three short films which tackle climate change from the young person’s point of view have premiered at Alexandria Library this past weekend.
The films which were written, filmed and produced by West Dunbartonshire’s young people as part of a weeklong Climate ACTION filmmaking academy at Clydebank and Alexandria Library, funded by Screen Scotland.
The group of teenagers aged between 13 – 17 spent a week with film company Braw Talent and members of the libraries team to learn to produce their thoughts and worries on climate change and its ever changing impact on the world.
The three short films had varied themes, emerging from what the young people cared about. The first film explore the link between the closure of the Clydebank Singer Factory and rising fast fashion – marked by cheap, disposable garments. It ends on a hopeful note, suggesting we can all remember the 5 R’s to live more sustainably: refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle. The second, in satire, looks the what three teenagers hope to be the “Best Summer Ever” – on their holidays in Bali, California and Scotland – but becomes a nightmare due to extreme weather events and plastic-strewn beaches and the final film was focused on current local news of the climate and ecological crises, particularly focusing on the decline of herring gulls in Scotland.
The premiere was attend by over 50 attendees including Convener of Cultural Committee, Councillor Martin Rooney who opened the night.
He said: “The talent of our young people in West Dunbartonshire continues to inspire everyone within our community, the films which were created and presented at the Premiere showed the real concern our young people have about our current climate crisis and the need for everyone to understand the challenges we all face and the need for us all to do our bit to tackle climate change. The short films that the groups created were informative, thought-provoking and at times humorous. They were excellently done and all the young people should be very proud of themselves.”