Earthshot: MTF filmmakers showcase Africa’s environmental challenge

The world is warming faster than at any time in recorded history. This rapid climate change is already releasing a wave of extreme weather wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and droughts. The only way to slow this wave of catastrophic climate change is to slash our emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.

It’s a long shot! To do it effectively, the world must reduce CO2 emissions by more than 40%, and protect 30 percent of our natural, fresh-water and ocean resources. To encourage the rapid progress that is needed, the Earthshot Prize was launched in 2020. Since then, the programme has awarded £15 million in prize money and helped generate a further £50 million of funding for 45 winners and finalists.

A significant part of the Earthshot initiative is to spread the word, to inspire, to connect. To ensure impacts on a continental scale, pan-African video entertainment company MultiChoice Africa has formed a media broadcast partnership with The Earthshot Prize. The objective of the partnership is to spotlight the innovative ideas helping to drive environmental change, and to accelerate the development of sustainable solutions.

MultiChoice reaches 21.8 million households across 50 countries, making it perfectly placed to educated communities on climate change, as well as to encourage and showcase innovative solutions. A prime example is the reforestation initiative undertaken by the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) East Africa Academy in Nderi, Kenya. Recognising the urgent need for environmental action, MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) East Africa Academy students partnered with the Nderi community and primary school on a reforestation initiative.

As a member of The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance, MultiChoice has deployed the creative resources of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) to create documentary content to support the Earthshot message. Through the dozens of MTF filmmakers who graduate from the programme across Africa every year, MultiChoice Africa is amplifying the need for environmental action, and celebrating the African changemakers tackling the world’s most pressing challenges.

Every year, the MTF programme trains a total of 60 young graduate filmmakers at its three academies in Lagos, Nairobi and Lusaka through comprehensive, fully funded cinematography courses. MTF students have produced a series of Earthshot documentaries, amplifying the message of environmentalism and climate-conscious living that will be critical to keeping the planet safe for human habitation.

Director Marilyn E Arko-Baisie and producer Winner Achimugu teamed up on the documentary short film Revive The Ocean, showing how NGOs and community organisations are working to make a difference. They speak to Doyinsola Ogunye founder of Sea Turtle Sanctuary; and Oyewole Talabi of plastics collection initiative Recycle9ja. Achenye Idachabasbaro of MitiMeth describes the process of upcycling waste to extend product lifespans, while Agharese Lucia Onaghise explains how the key to minimising waste is in designing products for recyclability.

The documentary R.A.T. – Race Against Time visits two seaside communities in Lagos, Nigeria and speaks to local residents and organisers living with extreme plastic pollution. The filmmakers – director Anjola Aluko, producer Prince Isaac Effiong, assistant producer Thecla Uzozi, and co-director Ayodeji M Lawson uncover the complexities of these communities, one of which is built upon a foundation of plastic waste, which is now a flood barrier. The film concludes with a sobering quote by Robert Swan: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save us.”

The short movie 2070 – by Director Adejo “Story Priest” Emmanuel, producers Morenikeji Uka and
Oluwayanmife Arogundade, and assistant director Omotola Oke “T-Basz” takes a dramatised approach to climate change. It tells the story of a schoolgirl assigned to imagine what the world would look like in 2070. While her classmates imagine a world of flying cars, her lived experience of waste pollution and constant flooding leads her to deliver a bleak assessment. “Everyone is responsible for the environment,” she points out. “And if we do nothing about climate change, we rob our children of a safe future.”

The MultiChoice partnership with the Earthshot prize is teaching young people the value of sustainability, while also helping to showcase game-changing initiatives and inspiring more of Africa’s youth to fight to save the continent’s future. By placing environmental awareness front and centre, and showcasing the heroes of the fight for sustainability, the MTF filmmakers are helping to conscientise the next generation of climate-conscious young African leaders.

ENDS