A short film about members of Extinction Rebellion Lambeth won London Documentary Network’s ‘Doc in a Day’ contest this month.
Together Whatever the Weather was created by film-makers Noemi Hatala, Tony Ivanov and Noemi Varga in the 36-hour competition and scooped joint first prize on 7 May 2019.
The documentary explores the motivations of Lambeth residents who joined thousands of Londoners at climate protests and road blocks during last month’s International Rebellion, organised by Extinction Rebellion, the socio-political movement attempting to force government action on climate change.
Film-maker Tony said: “The topic of the competition was ‘rebellion’. We decided to create a documentary about the obvious, but to come at it from a different angle.
“So not just what was happening, but the human stories of why people with no background of activism felt so strongly about this now that they were ready to be arrested”.
The occupation of Waterloo Bridge and a demonstration at Shell Centre made Lambeth a key site throughout the International Rebellion.
Since forming at a climate talk in Brixton in February, Extinction Rebellion Lambeth has grown into a group of over 130 volunteers, many of whom are new to activism.
In a scene from the documentary, a member recounts the moment when a line of young protestors on Waterloo Bridge were about to be arrested by police.
He said: “Suddenly all these elderly people, and I mean in their 60s, 70s, came and sat in front of them said ‘we don’t want you to have a criminal record. You can arrest us instead’.
“They sat in front of the younger people and were arrested and carried off by the police. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen.”
By winning the contest, the film-makers will now meet with the Emmy Award winning production company Spring Films, to discuss potential future projects.
You can watch Together Whatever the Weather on Vimeo and follow Extinction Rebellion Lambeth on Facebook and Twitter.
The London Documentary Network is a not-for-profit organisation bringing together film-makers in London to celebrate and collaborate on documentaries. The next ‘Doc in a Day’ contest will take place in July, with full details available on their website.
Feature image shows (from left): Tony Ivanov and Noemi Hatala, together with joint winners Maria Evrenos and Andrea Mattioli.
