{"id":44037,"date":"2020-10-23T01:44:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T05:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=44037"},"modified":"2020-10-23T01:45:01","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T05:45:01","slug":"i-am-greta-documentary-ignites-the-activist-within","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/44037\/i-am-greta-documentary-ignites-the-activist-within\/","title":{"rendered":"“I Am Greta” documentary ignites the activist within"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Greta Thunberg has been making headlines for the past two years, from her solitary protests which had gone viral on social media to the historic Friday\u2019s For Future<\/em> led September 2019 climate strikes which saw 7.6 million protesters take to the streets. She has met with multiple world leaders, delivered powerful speeches, has written a book, and has received multiple awards, as well as been named Time Magazine\u2019s \u201cPerson of the Year\u201d (2019), all before her seventeenth birthday. <\/p>\n\n

Swedish filmmaker Nathan Grossman has been documenting Greta\u2019s valiant journey since the beginning, and offers viewers an exclusive and intimate glimpse into Greta\u2019s life. Grossman first began filming for this documentary in August 2018, when he learned of a passionate 15 year old who refused to attend school during the weeks leading to the Swedish general election. After finding the teenage activist sitting quietly on the cobblestone outside of the Parliament House in Stockholm, with nothing more than her iconic \u201cSkolstrejk f\u00f6r klimatet\u201d sign, he knew there would be a story worth capturing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

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Photo by @gretathunberg\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The film opens with a nauseating clip of Greta\u2019s daring voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on a 60\u2019 sailing yacht, followed by graphic footage of climate related fires, floods, and extreme pollution and some equally nauseating audio clips of climate denying world leaders and pundits criticizing Greta and the environmental movement. <\/p>\n\n

In one scene we learn the origins of Greta\u2019s sustainable lifestyle. She recalls \u201cWe saw a film in school about starving polar bears, floods, hurricanes and droughts. And the scientists said we didn\u2019t have much time left to change our behavior. That\u2019s when I started to get depressed and anxiety set in. And I stopped eating, and I stopped speaking. I was sick. I almost starved to death. It took many years, but slowly but surely I started feeling better. I felt that \u2018why should I give up when there were an infinite number of things you could do to make a difference.<\/em>\u2019\u201d It\u2019s an important and humble reminder that it doesn’t take a scientific degree to be an environmentalist. Greta began reducing her consumption the same way\u00a0many\u00a0of us do, first becoming aware, and then turning that awareness into action. Little actions can lead to larger,\u00a0collective\u00a0actions.<\/p>\n\n

Perhaps the most powerful message we can take from the film is that Greta is still just a regular teenage girl. We see her laugh, and sulk, and cry, and dance, and exercise, and struggle to pick the \u201cright\u201d shirt to wear. On the treacherous 15-day journey to the United Nations Climate Summit, we get an emotional wake up call. This brave teenager with Asperger\u2019s should not have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and nor should any of the thousands of youth around the world who have had to miss school and take to the streets to make adults listen to their concern for their futures.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

We all have the power to make a difference. Let us thank\u00a0Greta and the global Fridays for Future movement\u00a0for all the work\u00a0they\u00a0have done, and just be happy for\u00a0them\u00a0for getting good grades in school. Let us make changes in our own lifestyle. Let us educate our friends and family on the climate crisis. Let us vote for climate action.\u00a0Let us hold polluting industries and governments accountable.\u00a0Let us carry the torch, and maybe we can make\u00a0our children\u00a0proud.<\/p>\n\n

I want to say this documentary is a film about hope, but it is more than that. It is a call to action. <\/p>\n\n

Check out Greenpeace Canada’s Act page<\/a> for more information on how you can make a difference today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI am Greta\u201d will be in cinemas worldwide on October 16, 2020 and available to stream on Crave and Hulu on November 13, 2020.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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