A look at how fellow journalists combine filmmaking and activism when covering issues related to the climate crisis.
The quest for activism in journalism and environmentalism
As a journalism major and an environmental studies minor, I’ve always wanted to use my power as a writer and filmmaker to raise awareness about climate change. But in journalism classes, we are often taught to be objective in our story-telling. I felt torn between my desire to be a “professional” journalist and an environmental activist. My solution was to reach out to Exposure Labs, the film company behind the hit documentaries, “Chasing Ice” and “Chasing Coral.” Exposure Labs is well-known for the grassroots community efforts they engage in after a film has premiered, so I hoped by talking to filmmakers at Exposure Labs, I could get a better understanding of how to bridge the two spheres of journalism and activism. This film documents my thought-process and journey over the past few years, as I grappled with these two sides of myself and sought to answer a problem that has no clear-cut solution.