Through FICCIÓN CLIMÁTICA project, we have been conducting workshops over the past few months with the goal of having university students develop their own cinematic scripts centered on climate change.
Working in small groups, the students create a simple screenplay that avoids the primary limitations and clichés of major climate fiction productions—such as individualistic characters or white, male heroes arriving to save the day. The objective is to draft a film that is proactive and visionary yet engaging for the audience.
Following the writing process, each group generated a movie poster using Artificial Intelligence, along with a summary or “logline” to communicate their story quickly and emotionally. Each group presented their film using this summary, and in the final part of the workshop, we debated the four resulting films: What social and environmental challenges appear in the story? How is social inequality addressed?
Creative Examples
- “Under Levels”: Set in a post-apocalyptic Paris where survivors endure life across three underground levels with vastly different qualities of life. While those at the top control resources and access to the outside, those at the bottom struggle to survive. Three young people from different levels form a deep friendship and unite to fight for the surface and their freedom.
- “Lo que esconde la marea” (What the Tide Hides): Tells the story of Ane and her aunt Eunate, fisherwomen fighting against a corrupt government capable of artificially altering the tides. Everything changes when Eunate is murdered; ignored by her community and fueled by vengeance, Ane decides to take a stand against the oppressive elite.
Why this workshop?
Climate fiction is an especially valuable resource for raising awareness about climate change because it allows students to:
- Imagine resilient futures amidst various crisis scenarios.
- Learn about potential climate outcomes projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
- Harness cinematic language as a creative and constructive tool.
On this website, we offer various workshops following this approach. These resources are available in PDF format and are free to download. Depending on the specific workshop, they are designed for different educational levels: Secondary Education, University Education, and Non-Formal Education.
More information: www.ficcionclimatica.com
No responses yet