A Message of Hope From Greta and Pope Francis
September 21, 2020
A unique one-minute film for the 75th anniversary of the United Nations
Arlington, Va. (September 21, 2020) – Today filmmakers behind the Webby Award-winning film “Nature Now” released #ImagineFor1Minute, a mesmerizing short film with a simple message - it’s time to talk about the future we want. Made out of voice-notes sent to the filmmakers from a variety of the most trusted humans on the planet; the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Greta Thunberg, Hindu “hugging saint” Amma, Pope Francis, Nobel Laureate Dr. Mario Molina, climate champion Christina Figueres, and an incredible group of influential people including footballer Paulo Dybala, F1 champion Nico Rosberg, All Blacks’ legend Dan Carter and model Arizona Muse.
The film was made with the support of Conservation International and a range of organizations working to address the climate and biodiversity crisis.
Unable to travel to film people because of lockdown, the filmmakers asked public figures and celebrities who cared about social justice, climate and the environment to send them voice-notes and selfies. They put out a global request via Avaaz for pictures of citizens and received thousands from people on every continent.
Edited together into an extraordinary one-minute kaleidoscope of humanity, it will be screened at the UN General Assembly, given away for free online, on the organization’s 75th anniversary to mark the first ever virtual summit of world leaders with a message of hope in troubled times.
The film is independent and not linked to a campaign - it’s a tool to be used to engage people with visualizing a better future, whatever that means for them, and then to talk about it. The world is full of distraction and division, this film is designed to catch the eye and engage people’s attention - to make them feel part of something bigger and imagine something better. To be used alone or in gatherings, from schoolchildren to world leaders.
Made by Gripping Films, the award-winning team behind Nature Now, the 2019 viral film with Greta Thunberg and George Monbiot with 70 million+ views and two Webby Awards.
It's been beautifully scored by legendary composer Max Cooper (in binaural sound) and animated by award-winning experimental filmmakers / artists the McGloughlin brothers.
The film will be given away FREE under a Creative Commons license, in the ten most spoken languages, to anyone who could find it useful. It has been produced to be shared and viewed across the world on any social platform, as a WhatsApp meme, as a way of bringing people together to respond to the joint crises we face, at a time of deep division.
#ImagineFor1Minute features the voices of:
Pope Francis
UNSG António Guterres
Nobel Winner Mario Molina
Amma
Greta Thunberg
Dan Carter
Paulo Dybala
Nico Rosberg
Mathieu Flamini
Valarie Kaur
Nina Sosanya
Christiana Figueres
Imam Mohammed Mahmoud
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Hindou Ibrahim
Benki Piyãko
Arizona Muse
Radhanath Swami
Supporters
This film has been made possible by support from the Planetary Emergency Partnership, WWF, Avaaz, Conservation International, FOLU, Global Commons Alliance, The Club of Rome, Nature4Climate, The Nature Conservancy, Climate & Sustainability, and Gower St. Additional individual donations from Noëlle Poncelet and Sandrine Dixson-Declève have helped to make this possible.
Watch a preview here:
Password: IF1M160920
The short film will be available to download in ten languages from 0900 EST/1400 BST on Monday, September 21st, 2020 here: http://imaginefor1minute.com
About Conservation International
Conservation International works to protect the critical benefits that nature provides to people. Through science, partnerships and fieldwork, Conservation International is driving innovation and investments in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, supporting protections for critical habitats, and fostering economic development that is grounded in the conservation of nature. Conservation International works in 30 countries around the world, empowering societies at all levels to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet. Follow Conservation International's work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Gripping Films
Gripping Films specialises in making films to create change – they’ve won over 30 international awards for their films with David Attenborough and others and have been nominated for an Emmy with their films for the BBC, PBS and National Geographic screened to the UN and EU Parliaments. Last year their viral short film "Nature Now" featuring Greta Thunberg was seen 70 million times, won two Webbys—and most importantly was critical in helping push high level global action in protecting nature to tackle climate change.
