Climate change film by Hackney pupils shown to world leaders

Guests at the United Nations event watch the film. Photograph: courtesy Mandeville Primary

A short film about the climate emergency featuring children from Hackney was today shown to world leaders at a United Nations conference.

The film saw eight- and nine-year-olds at Mandeville Primary School join forces with renowned photogapher Gideon Mendel, who has been documenting the impact of floods and fires across the world for nearly two decades.

Using Mendel’s portraits as a starting point, the children took part in an intensive five-week workshop to develop their understandings of global warming through photography, writing, and drawing.

They then drew self-portraits, as well as creating their own interpretations of Mendel’s photographs of people whose homes have been flooded or burnt.

Mendel said showing the Year 4 pupils his images was a “terrifying prospect”, but he wanted to “widen the conversation to include the perspective of the generation whose lives will be most affected by the global climate emergency”.

He added: “Their beautiful interpretations of my climate change portraits add a whole new level of meaning, a profound challenge to all adults to take action.”

A visit from Gurjeet Dhanoa, whose Colorado home burnt down on New Year’s Eve in 2021, provided further inspiration for the children.

The film weaves together shots of the pupils’ and Mendel’s work with footage of Dhanoa surveying her wrecked property and giving her classroom talk.

It also features a performance by Mandeville’s school choir, singing Help Me Change The World – partly written by the children involved in the project.

Attendees at today’s UN-convened 2024 Europe and Central Asia Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), hosted in Montenegro, were treated to a screening of the film, in a bid to show them the younger generation’s perception of climate change.

Sebastien Penzini, regional deputy chief at the United Nations Office for DRR, said: “We sincerely express our appreciation to each of the children and students involved in the film for raising attention on the existential question of climate change and disasters.

“Children and young people are too often disproportionally exposed to risks and their voices must be heard for building tomorrow’s resilience.”

Mandeville headteacher Marc Thompson said: “Mandeville is a school where creativity is central to learning. This multimedia art project made a profound impression on the children, opening their eyes to the very personal impact that climate change can have.

“We are so proud of the film and their artwork.”