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INDIGENOUS-LED CLIMATE ACTION

Earth Elders Film Arrives by End of Year

  • Aug 5
  • 2 min read

Updated: Aug 9

This spring, the Earth Elders film crossed an important threshold. After three years walking alongside Elders and their communities, the team completed principal photography and entered post-production.



Step into the story.

 

Explore the Earth Elders film website to watch the trailer, meet the Elders, and follow the journey toward its global release.


An Update from the Film Team

We're now working with our editor, Sana Gomes, whose recent credits include the National Geographic documentary Love + War, to weave together the many voices, ceremonies and landscapes that have guided this film. Sana brings real editorial skill along with a deep sensitivity to the spirit of the project, and as the story takes shape in the edit, we're reminded this is more than a film. It's an invitation to remember our relationship with one another and with the living Earth.


We're working toward completing the film by the end of the year, bringing us closer to sharing the wisdom of the Earth Elders with audiences around the world. The impact campaign has also begun.


Film director Lucy Martens and the crew share the camera process with a community member, creating space for participation, understanding, and shared authorship.
Film director Lucy Martens and the crew share the camera process with a community member, creating space for participation, understanding, and shared authorship.

After taking part in the Take on Film & Impact programme at the Movies that Matter Festival, we finished our consultation with impact strategist Vivian Schröder, who helped us think through how the film can serve communities and spark meaningful dialogue long after release.


Bettina Kadoorie (Executive Producer), Leslie Knott (Producer), Jazib Syed Ali (Co-producer and Impact Producer), Lucy Marten (Co-director and DoP), Melanie Pyne (Creative Producer) 
Bettina Kadoorie (Executive Producer), Leslie Knott (Producer), Jazib Syed Ali (Co-producer and Impact Producer), Lucy Marten (Co-director and DoP), Melanie Pyne (Creative Producer) 
Director Lucy Martens and co-producer Jazib Syed Ali present "Earth Elders" at the Movies that Matter Festival 2026 during the "Take on Film & Impact - Impact Morning" session.
Director Lucy Martens and co-producer Jazib Syed Ali present "Earth Elders" at the Movies that Matter Festival 2026 during the "Take on Film & Impact - Impact Morning" session.

Our working groups are now meeting, bringing together partners and collaborators to shape the next phase of this shared journey. We've also started working with the team from Kogia to co-design our Indigenous filmmaker training programme, so it grows out of reciprocity, relationship and the communities' own aspirations.


As we move toward completion, we're still raising the funds needed to finish post-production and build the impact campaign that will accompany the film. We've had a lovely invitation to screen at Bertha DocHouse in London, and we're building out our distribution plan, including a solid festival run, so as many people as possible get to see the film.


If you'd like to walk alongside us in these final months, we'd welcome your support: Support the Earth Elders Documentary Fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/earthelders-documentary-fundraiser — every contribution helps bring this story into the world and supports the wider movement of listening, learning and walking together in service of a living future.


 
 
 

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