A hard-hitting documentary about climate change will be showcased for one time only at a cinema in Abingdon.

Feature documentary Finite: The Climate of Change will be playing at the Abbey Cinema in Abingdon on May 20 in a one-off screening which will be followed by a discussion with award-winning director Rich Felgate and environmental activists Michelle Charlesworth and Meredith Williams from One Planet Abingdon Climate Emergency Centre (OPACEC).

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The film tells the inside story of concerned citizens in Germany who step forward to save an ancient forest from one of Europe’s biggest coal mines.

At the same time, they form an unlikely alliance with a frustrated community in rural northeast England who are forced into action to protect their homes from a new opencast coal mine.

Director, producer and cinematographer Rich Felgate is a climate activist turned filmmaker. In the making of Finite, his debut film, he spent a year and a half living in protest camps in the UK and Germany with the communities featured in the film.

Finite has been touring cinemas in the UK and Germany featuring discussions with Mr Felgate and local environmental activists with multiple sell out screenings.

The film had its UK premiere at BAFTA-qualifying Leeds International Film Festival and has won seven awards at film festivals around the world.

Broadcast sales to Japan (NHK), Estonia (ERR) and Greece (ERT) are so far confirmed.

Mr Felgate said: “The UK’s first new deep coal mine in 30 years has just been given the green light in Cumbria, a year after the UK government told the rest of the world to phase out coal at COP26.

“The International Energy Agency has said we cannot exploit new fossil fuel reserves if we are to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees.

“Yet the UK government is pushing ahead with over 130 new licences for oil and production and in Germany, a village just got demolished to expand a coal mine.

“The hypocrisy is so stark, no wonder ordinary people are taking matters into their own hands.”

The film has been described by writer and environmentalist George Monbiot as “a masterpiece: powerful, inspiring, uplifting.”

Mark Rylance describes it as “urgent and heroic, roaring with the rage and hope needed in our age of crisis”. In March 2019 Abingdon Town Council declared a climate emergency.

It actively supports OPACEC and recently awarded a further five-year rent-free use of premises in the basement of the Abingdon County Hall Museum to deliver the vision of a ‘One Planet Abingdon’.

Environmental activist Michelle Charlesworth said: “In this challenging time that we are living in, building resilience and community is the right thing to do.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1