Greta Thunberg has been making headlines for the past two years, from her solitary protests which had gone viral on social media to the historic Friday’s For Future led September 2019 climate strikes which saw 7.6 million protesters take to the streets. She has met with multiple world leaders, delivered powerful speeches, has written a book, and has received multiple awards, as well as been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” (2019), all before her seventeenth birthday.
Swedish filmmaker Nathan Grossman has been documenting Greta’s valiant journey since the beginning, and offers viewers an exclusive and intimate glimpse into Greta’s life. Grossman first began filming for this documentary in August 2018, when he learned of a passionate 15 year old who refused to attend school during the weeks leading to the Swedish general election. After finding the teenage activist sitting quietly on the cobblestone outside of the Parliament House in Stockholm, with nothing more than her iconic “Skolstrejk för klimatet” sign, he knew there would be a story worth capturing.
The film opens with a nauseating clip of Greta’s daring voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on a 60’ sailing yacht, followed by graphic footage of climate related fires, floods, and extreme pollution and some equally nauseating audio clips of climate denying world leaders and pundits criticizing Greta and the environmental movement.
In one scene we learn the origins of Greta’s sustainable lifestyle. She recalls “We saw a film in school about starving polar bears, floods, hurricanes and droughts. And the scientists said we didn’t have much time left to change our behavior. That’s when I started to get depressed and anxiety set in. And I stopped eating, and I stopped speaking. I was sick. I almost starved to death. It took many years, but slowly but surely I started feeling better. I felt that ‘why should I give up when there were an infinite number of things you could do to make a difference.’” It’s an important and humble reminder that it doesn’t take a scientific degree to be an environmentalist. Greta began reducing her consumption the same way many of us do, first becoming aware, and then turning that awareness into action. Little actions can lead to larger, collective actions.
Perhaps the most powerful message we can take from the film is that Greta is still just a regular teenage girl. We see her laugh, and sulk, and cry, and dance, and exercise, and struggle to pick the “right” shirt to wear. On the treacherous 15-day journey to the United Nations Climate Summit, we get an emotional wake up call. This brave teenager with Asperger’s should not have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders — and nor should any of the thousands of youth around the world who have had to miss school and take to the streets to make adults listen to their concern for their futures.
We all have the power to make a difference. Let us thank Greta and the global Fridays for Future movement for all the work they have done, and just be happy for them for getting good grades in school. Let us make changes in our own lifestyle. Let us educate our friends and family on the climate crisis. Let us vote for climate action. Let us hold polluting industries and governments accountable. Let us carry the torch, and maybe we can make our children proud.
I want to say this documentary is a film about hope, but it is more than that. It is a call to action.
Check out Greenpeace Canada’s Act page for more information on how you can make a difference today.
“I am Greta” will be in cinemas worldwide on October 16, 2020 and available to stream on Crave and Hulu on November 13, 2020.
