DocPoint is the yearly documentary festival of Helsinki, this year it happened between the 23rd-29th of January 2017. I’ve been meaning to write this blog post since then, but work and life have kept me busy…Until today, when I found out about the letter that Bill and Melinda Gates wrote to Warren Buffett. In the letter, they report how their Foundation has made an impact during the past years, and highlights the fact that ending poverty is still an urgent issue. The letter also states that by helping others and striving for equality, we can ultimately improve global health. Global health being not only that of people, but also that of our planet.

You can read the full letter here: “The annual letter by Bill and Melinda Gates is addressed to Warren Buffett, who in 2006 donated the bulk of his fortune to their foundation to fight disease and reduce inequity”.

And so, that was it, their letter inspired me and reminded me of my pending blog post about  DocPoint 2017! And it is all because the documentaries I watched there, are related to the current state of our society and to climate change.

The first documentary I watched is ‘HUMAN’, screened as part of the ‘Night of the ideas‘ – an event organized by the French Institute in Helsinki. ‘Human’ is a stunning film directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, it is not only a piece of art (due to the amazing air shots) but more importantly, is a film that opens one’s mind and heart to the lives and struggles of people around the world.

Panelists in the ‘Night of the ideas‘. From left to right: Yann Arhus-Bertrand (Film director), Janni Leinonen (Artist), S.E. Mohamad Ariad (Ambassador of Morocco to Finland) and Paolo Laj (Professor).

The panel discussion took place before the screening of the movie, and had a focus on the panelist’s view on climate change and the role of humans. The words by Janni Leinonen were particularly moving and remarkable, as he highlighted the lack of female presence in the panel and the difficulties that our society has had and keeps on having, due to the narrow ideologies of white supremacists. Then the words by Yann Arhus-Bertrand called for urgent action, and warned that “it is too late to be pessimist”.

Human (2015) running time 191 min. Available for free in YouTube: Human The Movie

After the panel, we had the privilege to watch an extended version of the film, which was made by an extensive work that included over 2.000 interviews conducted around 60 countries. People were asked different questions related to family, love, religion, sex, politics, agriculture, and many other topics to shed light into what it means to be human and how despite our uncountable differences we all share emotions and struggles, we all are human and are responsible for the future of our planet.

The film  doesn’t show much of the background of the person being interviewed (place and other details are not shown), yet by what the person is saying and by the close-up to the expressions, a nearly immediate connection is created between the viewer and interviewee. After watching this film one feels awakened towards the reality of other people, whose stories might happen far away, but will become more real after listening to their protagonists. They have definitively given me inspiration to help more and hopefully will inspire you too. Definitely a documentary worth to watch!

And then the second documentary is titled: “How to let go of the world and love all the things climate can’t change”(2016) directed by Josh Fox, running time 127 min. Unfortunately is not available online, but you might be able to find a screening nearby you.

This documentary was part of the official selection of Sundance 2016 film festival, and has won several awards, such as: Documentary award for environmental advocacy, Environmental film festival 2016.

Although less stunning than ‘Human’, ‘How to let go of the world and love all the things climate can’t change’ is also worth watching. But before going into the plot: seriously couldn’t this film have a shorter title?! and should we really let go of the world? probably not (and probably the film maker is just using the typical “let go” phrase made popular by yoga).

Anyway, ‘How to let go of the world and love all the things climate can’t change’ is good in the sense that shows the struggles of people who are being directly affected by the threatening conditions of climate change. During the film we see how  Pacific islanders are threatened by the rise of sea levels and how people in China are living in some of the most polluted cities in the world, among other stories. Josh Fox does a captivating voice over and story telling about his encounters with inspiring people around the world. All is connected with the urgency of how our lives are currently being affected by climate change and how this generates different attitudes, feelings and actions.

The most inspiring thing from the film to me, was the introduction of the idea of ‘moral imagination’, which means that we should not behave in the pre-established sequence of: “must get a job, must get a house, must get a car, etc.”, we also have the possibility to be creative and live a life that is selfless that seeks not only the personal good but also the good of our society and of our planet. A ‘moral imagination’ entails commitment, creativity and to make a big shift from the consumerist society for the sake of our planet and for our fellow human’s happiness and well-being.

Both documentary films were fascinating and have the power to give the motivation to re-assess one’s day to day choices and strive to be more responsible: socially and environmentally. We all should definitely  be more aware of our choices and ideologies, and of how they affect our society and the planet. In a world challenged by climate change, love is important to not feel overwhelmed, and taking action is even more important. It might seem as if individual actions don’t matter, but they definitely do. We can all be actors of positive change and begin a butterfly effect.

Bonus points for ‘Human’: +1000 (Excellent, a must watch documentary!)

Bonus points for ‘How to let go of the world…’: +500 (totally worth to watch, but there are things that could have been better)

The next film festivals happening nearby are: the Season Festival in Helsinki and Espoo cine, so I will do future posts on each.