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Eye-opening local documentary about sea level rise to screen at Plymouth Arts Cinema
2nd December 2021
A new film about how our seaside communities are facing up to a future of sea level rise and coastal erosion will be screened at Plymouth Arts Cinema on December 11.
‘Living on the Edge’ is a 30-minute documentary produced by charity Cornwall Climate Care (cornwallclimate.org).
It is presented by passionate ultra-runner Emma Hazeldine, and follows her as she runs around the Cornish coast, discovering people and places that are starting to face climate change impacts such as sea level rise, increased storms and coastal erosion.
A trailer for the film can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxc8KTSdrWA
Just a few of the stories covered in Living on the Edge include:
- The escalating cost of maintaining the South West coast path, which is hugely important to Cornwall’s economy, attracting 2.5 million visitors to the county each year
- A community’s efforts to save a much-loved historic building by moving it brick by brick 100m away from a cliff edge
- Plans to protect the low-lying towns of Mounts Bay with 1.3 million tonnes of sand
- One town’s victory in efforts to stop developments from being built on the edge of its crumbling cliffs
Living on the Edge will be screened along with the previous two films from the Cornwall’s Climate Stories series, and will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers and some of the contributors to the three films.
The previous two films were Under the Surface, looking at how climate change is already impacting Cornwall’s marine environment, and Plenty More Fish? which investigates how climate change is affecting the Cornish fishing industry.
All of the films include a large amount of footage shot in and around Plymouth Sound.
The Q&A panel at the launch event will include the filmmakers, as well as:
- Professor Gerd Masselink, from the Coastal Processes Research Group at the University of Plymouth
- Julian Gray, director of the South West Coast Path Association
- Marianne Wootton, senior plankton analyst, Marine Biological Association
- Ben Church, local rod and line fisherman
Producer Claire Wallerstein said: “Sea levels have only risen about 20cm over the past century, which might not seem like much – but the speed of the rise is accelerating. Meanwhile climate change is bringing greater storminess, and these two things combined will impact our coasts more and more in the future.
“It’s hard for us to imagine Cornwall’s seaside towns and villages ever changing, but this film lifts the lid on the challenges that lie ahead. The film’s message is that we really need to start planning how we’re going to adapt to our changing coastline – before events overtake us.”
Cornwall Climate Care’s films are non-political, non-sensationalist, and seek to reach unengaged audiences by showing that climate change isn’t just something affecting polar bears or people on the other side of the world.
They also highlight the positive and creative things that are already going on around Cornwall to tackle the climate emergency.
For more information and tickets please visit: https://plymouthartscinema.org/whats-on/cornwall-climate-stories-three-short-films-qa/