Letters To Our Children
“Letters To Our Children” is the result of a year long collaboration with Extinction Rebellion Families. Its core are roughly 50 letters sent in by concerned parents and carers written to their children about the accelerating Climate & Ecological Emergency.
The short video has been published online (over 5k views) and projected onto the Tate Modern as well as onto our self-made screen in locations all across London. It is now being used as outreach tool by Extinction Rebellion.
“What will you say to the children you love about your hopes and fears as the climate crisis intensifies?” started as an open call by Extinction Rebellion families.
The result is this short video in which 108 individuals of all ages and backgrounds give voice to thoughts and segment from real letters sent in from across the globe.
Looking directly into the camera, they each hold up evocative key words from the letters, or narrate sections that express the sorrow that they feel about the destruction of the natural world on their watch, and their determination to fight to preserve what they can for younger generations.
Julie and Claudia, who produced and created the film alongside fellow XR Families members Miranda and Isa, say: “Our aim is to keep it simple and emotional and cut through to an essential motivation for change - the biggest common denominator - our love and concern for all of our children and all future generations.”
“We want to encourage viewers to actively participate in creating a better, fairer and sustainable future, one built with life at the forefront of all decision making processes; not profit over life.”
“Despite being made by, and featuring, Extinction Rebellion activists, we do not see the film as a recruiting tool for a single movement. Where viewers go to participate actively isn’t our primary concern - this is not an XR specific mobilisation tool, but one that hopefully would appeal to many different organisations with the same intentions to shape a better, climate-safe future,'
It is an unbelievably difficult task to put something so complex and heart-breaking into words, knowing we are all part of the problem. The question is, can we now mobilize to be part of the solution?
To join in and get involved. We have collated a diverse variety of organisations with whom you could get in touch with here www.linktr.ee/letterstoourchildren.
Credits:
Concept: Miranda Irwin, Julie Hermann, Claudia Leisinger
Production: Julie Hermann, Claudia Leisinger
Video & Editing: Claudia Leisinger
Voice-over-recordings and sound guidance: Isa Suarez
Voice-over-recordings: Gary Bridgewood
Music: EpidemicSound, Remove The Complexities and Balm by Peter Sandberg
Voices: Eve McDougall, Joanna Foster, Nathan Osgood, Alwyne Taylor, Eve Polycarpou, Leigh Singer, Julie Hermann, Claudia Leisinger, Liz Cass, Neil Sheppeck, Ghadah Alrawi, Sofia Antropova, Mattia Moscone, Alexia Hall
Thank you to everyone who held up key words for our video, we are very grateful to all of you.
Taken inspiration from the global campaign and book Letters to the Earth. www.LettersToTheEarth.com