Carbon has become a dirty word. Storytelling is one of the key ways in which people understand the problem of climate change and the steps we can take to solve it.

I was commissioned by The George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at USW to direct this 30 minute documentary about the work being done in South Wales as part of the RICE Project in Swansea University.

This is the film I made which was funded by WEFO:

Created as part of the Reducing Industrial Carbon Emissions project, the documentary A Wicked Problem portrays the ground-breaking solutions being developed to transform carbon emissions in Wales from a ‘wicked problem’ to a valuable resource as we strive towards net zero. The film does not flinch from depicting the threats posed by global warming, but showcases promising solutions and celebrates innovations. We meet engineers who, much like modern day alchemists, are turning carbon into essential nutrients and waste water into emission free fuels. The film’s striking visual scheme and vivid soundtrack locate Welsh heavy industries in the breath-taking landscapes where a centuries-long legacy of coal mining and export helped generate the modern carbon-based economy– and its planetary consequences–and now suggest creative paths to healing. It reminds us of what is at stake in the world, and all that we have to cherish. At its core, this film is a story of transformation, beauty, and hope and allows us access to the human ingenuity at the heart of industrial innovation. Storytelling, as both a method of investigation and a mode of dissemination, can help us to understand the human experience behind complex ideas. From our earliest years, we come to know the world through stories – when we hear the stories of the people setting out to find solutions to some of our most pressing challenges, we can understand as one human being to another. Stories allow us to open up emotionally and intellectually and to think about the scientific innovation at the heart of the RICE project and why it really matters. The George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at the University of South Wales has collected over 50 stories and created a 30 minute documentary as part of the RICE project, a unique interdisciplinary collaboration bringing together storytellers and engineers to find hope in the face of climate chaos.

Here are a couple of BTS pics from the shoots: