In honour of World Environment Day, Together Films invite you to explore the urgent realities of our planet through the lens of five essential films. These selections highlight critical issues in our food systems, wildlife, and fragile ecosystems, emphasising the dire consequences of human actions and the need for change. From the resilient beekeeping traditions in HONEYLAND to the radical activism in HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE, these films challenge us to rethink our relationship with nature and consider immediate actions to protect our world.
Evil Does Not Exist
In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency’s plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity’s mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.
Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice. HONEYLAND is an epic, visually stunning portrait of the delicate balance between nature and humanity that has something sweet for everyone.
In FOOD, INC. 2, the sequel to the 2008 Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning documentary Food, Inc., filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo reunite with investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) to take a fresh look at our vulnerable food system. Since the first film, multinational corporations have tightened their stronghold on US governments, robbed workers of a fair living wage and contributed to the global proliferation of ultra-processed foods along with a chemically formulated international health crisis. The film centers innovative farmers, future-thinking food producers, workers’ rights activists and prominent legislators Senator Cory Booker and Senator Jon Tester who are facing these companies head on to inspire change and build a healthier, more sustainable future.
FOOD, INC. 2 is coming to the UK cinemas on 7 June!
A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline, in Daniel Goldhaber‘s taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis. Based on the controversial book by Andreas Malm.
In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) explores the connection between the kites and the brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.
You can also browse our expanded selection on this Letterboxd list, which offers a rich variety of films shaping environmental consciousness.
