Adelaide Film Festival: Future Council

Film name: Future Council

Hub rating: ★★★ 1/2

Director: Damon Gameau

Country: Netherlands, Australia

Classification: All Ages

Link: https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2024/future-council

The next film on Hub's Adelaide Film Festival list was Damon Gameau’s film, Future Council.

Gameau, an Australian filmmaker, explores the complexities of the climate emergency from the perspective of eight young eco-warriors from across the world. The eight kids, each with their own superpower, travel across Europe alongside Gameau on the ultimate road trip, seeking solutions to some of the world's greatest environmental challenges. Groth, an animated cloud creature, serves as a metaphorical representation of consumerism and the impacts humanity’s greed is having on the natural world. Setting out to share their stories and create change within the world, the eight kids share heartfelt conversations about eco-anxiety, meet with CEOs from multinational companies, and connect with nature to inspire and learn from each other. 

Right off the bat, the film opens with an element of humour and introduces an upbeat tone which is carried throughout most of the documentary, appropriately capturing the energy of the kids in the film. With a heavy topic such as the climate crisis, it is important that the issue is addressed but that a sense of hope is also a driving force of the story, which this documentary does well. The film has some tear-jerking moments where the kids expose just how much the climate emergency is affecting them and the high levels of climate-anxiety they all experience, a feeling shared by many young people across the world. 

Hearing directly from young people and seeing them as the drivers of the story is the highlight of this documentary. It not only brings such an important voice to the table, it also allows the issue to be addressed honestly and simply. The majority of the time, environmental documentaries involve hearing from adult academics, and whilst their opinions and research are integral to the conversation, they tend to overcomplicate things through the use of fancy language, building a divide between the everyday audience member and themselves. Instead, in Future Council, the kids turn the issue of climate change into a shared, human experience and get down to the simple roots of the issue.

The eight kids are also lucky enough to meet and have conversations with CEOs from multinational companies including the CEO of ING Bank, who represents big coal and mining companies. In response to the CEO saying that ING cannot just take the huge risk of switching over to only support environmentally friendly companies, and that it will take time for that to happen, one of the kids stated:

“I’m not saying take a jump off a cliff type of risk, I mean take a roll down a hill risk.”

This metaphor is the perfect example of the humour, smarts, and perspectives that the kids bring to the documentary. 

Although this is an incredible documentary, at times it feels as though the kids are talked down to. Whilst most of the time, Gameau treats the kids with respect, at times he also over simplifies information for them and, as one of the kids says, “adultsplains” to them. However, the kids are not afraid to stand up for themselves and tell the adults that their opinions are valid and that they have important things to say. 

Future Council gives a platform for young people to have a say on an issue that is deeply affecting them. Through meaningful and honest discussions about climate-anxiety, the kids demonstrate the true impact the climate crisis is having on the younger generation. Something can be found for adults, children and anyone in between in Future Council.