New Scottish documentary film around climate change
In the year that Scotland hosts the UN’s climate change conference (COP26), the John Gray Centre, Haddington is holding special screenings of Living Proof, a new documentary exploring the roots of the climate crisis in Scotland’s post-war history. The film explores the country’s complex relationship to the global climate crisis through film and music.
With just 130 years of moving image heritage to draw upon which offers only a glimpse of human history the proliferation of video today makes the moving image a crucial and contested site for documenting human impact on the planet.
In this new feature-length documentary from the National Library of Scotland, curated footage evocatively shows how our environment has been shaped by the demand for energy, industry and growth.
Curator and director Emily Munro frames Scotland’s post-war history through the lens of the current debate, inviting audiences on a journey to revisit the promises of the past and consider how they relate to our future on this planet. Was climate change inevitable? Can we break free from a boom-and-bust mentality? Are we able to adapt to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for generations to come?
The film suggests ‘The development of Scotland in the last century has been determined by our understanding of our natural environment and our place in the world with ambition and vision heralding the promise of fortune. But questions of ‘why’ and ‘what next’ are left for us to consider.’
Living Proof features music by contemporary Scottish artists Louise Connell, Brownbear and Post Coal Prom Queen alongside composers Ian Whyte, Frank Spedding, John Maxwell Geddes and David McNiven (Bread, Love and Dreams), whose works feature in the archive.
Screenings of Living Proof at the John Gray Centre will be on Thursday, 4 November at 6pm and Saturday 6 November at 11am. There is no entry fee but a donation would be appreciated. Booking is essential as places will be limited. To book contact Haddington Library (Tel: 01620 820680; email jgc@eastlothian.gov.uk).
Living Proof is a partnership project between the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive and Film Hub Scotland.