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Faces of Climate Resilience, award-winning climate docu-series, starts streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from 5 July

Watch the trailer here

New Delhi, 05 July 2024: Faces of Climate Resilience, an award-winning 16-part short documentary series produced by leading think tank, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), will stream on Disney+ Hotstar from 5 July. The documentaries, created in collaboration with India Climate Collaborative, Edelgive Foundation and Drokpa Films, capture voices from five of India's most climate-vulnerable states — Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Going beyond alarming numbers and headlines, the series highlights how people and communities at India's grassroots are adapting to the climate crisis and building resilience against floods, cyclones, droughts and forest fires. Faces of Climate Resilience, directed by Kochi-based filmmaker Shawn Sebastian, won worldwide accolades, including the prestigious 2023 CMCC Climate Change Communication Award ‘Rebecca Ballestra’ and awards at the Documentaries Without Border International Festival (USA) and the Aravali International Film Festival (India).

From Mandakini Ki Awaz on how a community radio station is leading disaster preparedness in Uttarakhand to Rebuilding Cheruthoni after 2018 on how a Kerala town is climate-proofing infrastructure against floods and heavy rain and Uttarakhand’s Young Water Scientists fighting water scarcity, Faces of Climate Resilience highlights the power of individual and collective action against climate change. This is especially important as CEEW studies show that 75 per cent of India’s districts are vulnerable to extreme climate events. The series is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

Milan George Jacob, Communications Specialist, CEEW, and creative producer of the series said: “The climate crisis is our lived reality. At the tail end of one of the hottest summers, India’s attention has already turned to tackling floods across the country, from Delhi to Assam and Kerala. According to CEEW analysis, 8 of 10 Indians live in districts vulnerable to extreme climate events. It is crucial to build resilience in a warming world where such extreme events will likely increase, and we need not look far for inspiration. Faces of Climate Resilience tells the stories of India's local climate heroes and their ingenuity in adapting to climate change. They show that mobilising collective action can really have an impact.”

Shawn Sebastian, the director of Faces of Climate Resilience, said, “Climate change is gradually becoming an unmistakable character, even in pop culture, but a lot more needs to be done. In order to respond to what the climate crisis demands of us, we must find stories of a liveable future—examples that motivate people towards action. Faces of Climate Resilience is an attempt to capture this resilience across India.”

Faces of Climate Resilience was a finalist/nominee at the South London Film Festival (UK) 2024, CMS VATAVARAN International Film Festival (India) 2024, and an Official Selection at the Kalamata International Short Documentary Festival (Greece) 2023, Goethe-Institut's Science Film Festival (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) 2023, MediaOne Academy Film Festival 2023 (India) and Ankur Film Festival (India) 2022.

The films were first released in the run-up to the United Nation’s Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt in 2022. So far, they have travelled to 40+ screenings, followed by discussions in 15+ Indian and international cities and towns.

For media queries, contact: Rishi Singh – [email protected] | +91 9313129941

Ten women-led self-help groups in Tandahara village, Puri, Odisha, replanted Casurina forests along the coast to reduce the impact of cyclones and seawater intrusion on their farmland. Photo: Shawn Sebastian/CEEW