Film urges action on climate and ecological emergency
An array of Hollywood stars including Joaquin Phoenix, Rosario Dawson, Matthew Modine, Q'orianka Kilcher, Oona Chaplin, Adria Arjona and Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes have come together to make a short film with Extinction Rebellion and Amazon Watch.
The two-minute short film, set in an Emergency Room, is designed to be a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the plight of the Amazon and its indigenous communities, and an alarm call for deforestation and biodiversity loss taking place in every corner of the globe as a result of devastating wildfires, droughts, floods and storms.
Shaun Monson, the film's director, said he felt compelled to make the film as previous documentary-style PSAs had failed to move audiences to take action. 'Instead of focusing on deforestation, ice melting and species extinction, we use a story as a metaphor', Shaun explains. 'The Amazon has been called the lungs of the world, or the heart of the world, but instead of documentary footage we proposed an ER setting with doctors and nurses trying to save an unseen patient with systemic heart failure. The twist is not only who one of the paramedics is, but what they were really fighting to save all along."
Sonia Guanabara, Executive coordinator of the Articulation of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB) said "This film is very important for us at this moment. It demonstrates the artists' engagement in Amazon protection by showing the key role indigenous peoples play in defending the forests, the planet, and life itself."
The valiant medic in the film, who refuses to admit defeat is,played by Peruvian American actress and campaigner, Q'orianka Kilcher She said, "As an indigenous actress I feel a strong responsibility to use my public platform to help amplify the voices who are seldom heard including all the indigenous defenders around the world who are the protectors of our Mother Earth, the Amazon Rainforest, and all the biodiversity and animals."