Rebellion / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sanchez Bellot

REBELLION is the first feature-length documentary to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Extinction Rebellion, following a group of unlikely allies as they come together to confront the climate emergency. In the decade since the Financial Crisis, action on climate change had slipped right down the political agenda. In 2018 a new group emerged, Extinction Rebellion (XR), with a bold tactic to break through the deadlock: mass civil disobedience on a scale not seen for decades. Rebellion follows the journey of XR co-founders as well as Farhana Yamin, an international environmental lawyer who played a key role in negotiating the Paris Climate Agreement, as she decides to break the law for the first time in her life. For them, climate change is not just an environmental issue but is rooted in - and reinforces - social inequalities. REBELLION crucially tells a story about the health of our own democracy, as we witness moves to restrict the power of peaceful protest - including a government bill threatening 10 year jail sentences for those causing ‘serious annoyance or inconvenience.’ REBELLION poses uncomfortable and important questions about what it means to be an active citizen. First time filmmakers Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sanchez Bellot join us for a conversation about the civil rights issues as they related to protest, the urgency that so many feel regarding the climate crisis and the pressing need for proactive, not reactive actions. We also talk about the internal dynamics that come when a group of political activists begin to experience the spotlight of success.