Climate Talks, the series dedicated to climate change launched by the German Foreign Ministry around the world, also arrives in Rome. In the capital, it is the protagonist with a series of events including a film festival organised with the Goethe-Institut and in collaboration with ReteZeroWaste.
The festival consists of five German feature films and documentaries, all on the theme of the climate change crisis. Each date includes the participation of the filmmakers in the auditorium and a debate at the end of the screening. The themes addressed in the five appointments concern the consequences of climate change, such as the extinction of wildlife, plastic pollution or deforestation, but also and above all the political and moral responsibilities of all those generations that have allowed the ecosystem crisis to come about, as well as the responsibilities of industrialised countries towards Third World countries, often blameless victims of the ecological disaster.
“Climate change is already a reality, its impacts affect us all. It is, however, a reality that we can and must influence. The film festival organised together with the Goethe-Institut in Rome in the context of the ‘Rome Climate Talks’ is part of this important discussion: how do we want to transform our society and make everyone a part of it? What are the effects of climate change on other countries and what does this mean for us in Europe? Five award-winning films illustrate the consequences of climate change from very different perspectives and at the same time give us hope for solutions to safeguard our planet,’ comments German Ambassador Hans-Dieter Lucas.
Opening the festival on Tuesday 6 February at 7.30 p.m. is Marten Persiel’s film, Everything will change, a road movie set in the future, the year 2054, in which a group of young people try to trace the causes and responsibilities for the extinction of wildlife. The director is introduced by Cristiana Paternò.
Tuesday 5 March at 7.30 p.m. is the screening of Volker Schlöndorff’s latest documentary, Der Waldmacher, which follows the story of Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo, who with his innovative reforestation technology has been demonstrating for decades on the African continent how revitalising trees can also promote healthy farmland. The director will be introduced by Miriam Mauti.
Tuesday 19 March at 7.30 pm will be the turn of the documentary Plastic Fantastic. In this film, director Isabella Willinger delves into the global plastic crisis that permeates our environment and even our own bodies. With impressive facts, such as that there are 500 times more plastic particles in the oceans than there are stars in our galaxy, the film shows the urgency and extent of the crisis. Mauro Donzelli moderates.
On Tuesday 26 March at 7.30 p.m. Ökozid by Andres Veielci takes us into the future, when in 2034 the climate catastrophe becomes the subject of legal proceedings. Two female lawyers represent 31 countries of the Global South in a claim for damages against the Federal Republic of Germany. The legal proceedings address the economic and ecological responsibility of developed countries as well as the right to the integrity of nature.
The festival closes on Tuesday 9 April at 7.30 pm with Eldorado, a documentary by Markus Imhoof, who boarded an Italian military ship during the Mare Nostrum operation that saved tens of thousands of people in the Mediterranean Sea. The film reveals current stories of escape, filmed on a military ship and on trains illegally crossing borders. Between personal stories and global contexts, Eldorado raises urgent questions about the migration crisis and reveals how it is linked to global economic flows.
Admission to the exhibition is free while places last, reservation required
eventi-roma@goethe.de
Climate Talks originated in 2023 from an initiative of the German Foreign Ministry worldwide. In Italy they are organised by the three German diplomatic representations in Rome with debates, social activities and the present film festival with the Goethe-Institut and in collaboration with ReteZeroWaste.
