Actor-turned-writer-director and occasional carer to eight kids, Damon Gameau, has done it again with his latest film Future Council, in which we’re encouraged to see a brighter future through the eyes of children
There’s something irresistible about Melbourne filmmaker Damon Gameau’s latest feature documentary Future Council, in which he goes road tripping around Europe in a vegetable oil-powered yellow school bus, accompanied by eight boisterous 10 to 14-year-old children who are collectively determined to tackle climate change.
Clearly Damon has chosen to ignore film comedian WC Fields’s well-known advice: ‘Never work with animals or children’ – and there’s plenty that could go wrong in this scenario.
There’s also a lot that goes right, as these young climate warriors from around the globe manage to get themselves before some of the giants of industry including Nestle and ING, demanding answers to what these uber-powerful corporations are doing to address the climate crisis their companies are contributing to as some of the world’s top polluters. These kids are single-minded, articulate and convincing. They’re also silly and sweet and honest, as kids are.
‘What could be possible if adults actually listen to the youth set to inherit our increasingly uninhabitable Earth?’ Future Council invites us to explore this question through the eyes of the next generation. (Image courtesy of the filmmakers).
When it comes to filmmaking, Damon never has been one to follow the crowd. Think That Sugar Film (2015), when the former actor, now-writer-director-activist turned the camera on himself as he consumed a strict, so-called ‘healthy’ diet that in fact contained high levels of sugar, resulting in his body quickly displaying warning signs of fatty liver disease.
Or 2040 (2019), a doco created as a visual letter to Damon’s then-four-year-old daughter in which he explores what the future could look like by 2040 – think vibrant, clean and green – simply by adopting easy climate-saving solutions available to us right now. It was seen as so influential it screened before world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
Locally, both films remain Australia’s highest-grossing documentaries of all time.
Then there’s the 17-minute short, Regenerating Australia (2022), that begins on New Year’s Eve 2029 and is set in a utopian world we humans have actively achieved, looking back at the decade ‘that could be’ in which Australia transitioned to a fairer, cleaner, more community-focussed economy. The film features interviews with prominent politicians, business leaders, journalists and citizens including David Pocock, Sandra Sully and Larissa Behrendt.
Damon knows well the power of storytelling in its ability to inspire and create widespread and measurable behavioural change in the wider community. Armed with this knowledge, he and his Sugar Film impact producer, Anna Kaplan, founded Regen Studios in 2020. An Australian film and impact production company, it marries compelling screen-based stories around regeneration with strategic and robust impact campaigns advocating for the best available ecological and social solutions for a brighter future.
“We’ve seen how this can create huge change at school, community, council, corporate and policy level,” says Anna. “We’ve seen how our films have influenced policy directly, both in Australia, France, New Zealand and the UK. Through our experiences we’ve come to believe stories shape culture, culture shapes leaders, leaders shape policies and policies shape the system.”
A scene from Future Council set in the natural splendor of Europe. (Image courtesy of the filmmakers).
In 2020, Regen Studios launched Regenerators, a platform that produces content, resources, stories and action to empower people to learn about and create change in their own lives – be that the workplace, home or school.
“It’s allowed us to move away from that single project model where we’re just telling one story and running one campaign at a time, to supporting an ecosystem of projects and working with other people’s projects,” Anna says.
One such project is Rachel’s Farm (2023), actress Rachel Ward’s feature documentary that follows her journey to transform her property from ecological despair to one of thriving regeneration. The film was executive produced by Regen Studios, who also oversee the multi-year impact strategy behind a national impact tour of Q+A screenings, the mobilisation of the Regenerators community and the activation of Regen’s partner network to amplify the film and its key message.
Regenerating Australia’s impact campaign was accompanied by a $2 million solutions fund in partnership with WWF that invited communities to help bring the film to life and sparked 35 regenerative projects.
Regen Studio’s impact is profound. Take one very small example: the impact campaign associated with 2040 asked people to switch their search engine to one that diverts revenue generated from ads to tree planting projects instead. Through their partnership with Ecosia the 2040 community switch resulted in the planting of 50,000-plus trees.
“We know it works,” Anna says.
A snapshot of Regen Studio’s impact across 2040, Regenerating Australia and That Sugar Film saw the films released in 55 international territories to 10 million-plus viewers, engaged 1300-plus corporates and saw more than $4 million raised for solutions. In addition, 2 million Australian school students have engaged with the Regenerators’ free aligned curriculum while the films reached more than 70 million through social media.
“We’re really striving to improve the lives and wellbeing of young people who consume our content so we develop curriculum and toolkits to help kids develop new skills they can apply to create positive change in their communities,” Anna says.
Damon with the energising young cast of Future Council at the film’s premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival on 11 August. (Image courtesy of the filmmakers).
Future Council made its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 11 August, receiving a standing ovation from the thousand-strong audience who were captivated by the big-hearted film’s central question: ‘What could be possible if adults truly listened to the youth who are set to inherit our increasingly uninhabitable Earth?’
In September 2023 Alberts, through its philanthropic arm The Tony Foundation, embarked on a three-year partnership with Regen Studios. The decision to join forces with the forward-thinking, action-driven organisation was driven by Regen Studio’s passion for and commitment to addressing climate change head-on, through screen-based storytelling. A vibrant culture and sustainable environment are two of Alberts’ key focus areas across its operations, and the fifth-generation family business is passionate about supporting innovative thinkers pioneering new ways of bringing the two together.
While improving the life outcomes of young Australians through music remains central to the Foundation’s mission, Alberts acknowledges the urgent threat of climate change to our planet and society. We are dedicated to fostering a thriving and sustainable world for generations to come, integrating environmental stewardship into our philanthropic initiatives since 2020.
“At Alberts and the Tony Foundation, we are passionate about the power of creativity to effect change,” says Alberts executive director, and head of The Tony Foundation, Ingrid Albert.
“The way Damon and Anna and the team at Regen Studios combine storytelling and impact strategies to motivate audiences to collectively work towards creating a better tomorrow is something we are both inspired by and believe in wholeheartedly.”
