Global Premiere for NZ-Made United Nations Documentary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10 June 2016

A UN-funded climate change documentary by New Zealand filmmakers will be simultaneously premiered worldwide on Monday 13th June.

Watch the trailer here.

Thirty Million explores the threat sea-level rise poses to the people of Bangladesh. The country - considered the most vulnerable in the world to climate change - is predicted to lose 17% of its land by the end of the century, displacing 30 million people.

Premiere screenings are being held at the UN Headquarters in New York City and in Christchurch on Monday 13th June. Screenings will also be held throughout June in Wellington and Auckland. The film will be made available to 150 UNDP offices around the world.

The film will be launched online to coincide with the first screenings, with thousands around the world expected to livestream the "global premiere" from the comfort of their own home.

The film was co-directed by New Zealand-based Adrien Taylor and UK-based climate scientist Dr Daniel Price. It features UNDP head Helen Clark.

"Doing a world premiere with your friends in your living room is an engaging and low-carbon way to get the film out there to as many people as possible at once," says Dr Price.

"Thirty Million is a non-commercial labour of love. None of us are being paid to make it; we just want people to see it."

Click here to view the trailer for Thirty Million.

“It’s hard for people to grasp the enormity of the issue when we talk about 30 million Bangladeshis at risk of being displaced by rising seas,” says Dr Price, who cycled from New Zealand to Paris to raise awareness on climate change last year.

“We're talking almost ten times the amount of people who have left Syria throughout the crisis there.”

“We’re on the verge of seeing major human migrations driven by climate change,” adds Taylor.

“The Pentagon has already identified this is a major threat to global security and peace.

“New Zealand had the world’s first case of a person applying for climate refugee status, and this is something we will see again and again as boatloads of displaced people start making their way to safer countries. New Zealand will become a safe haven for our very vulnerable Pacific neighbours.”

In terms of the number of people affected, Bangladesh is widely considered the most vulnerable country to climate change in the world because of its coastal, low-lying nature and dense population.

India has built the world’s longest border fence between itself and Bangladesh, virtually shutting off Bangladeshis from the rest of the world by land travel. That means millions may take to the seas in search of safer places less affected by climate change.

“The people of Bangladesh are on the front lines of climate change. Humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions are affecting them today. We wanted to give these people a voice, and ultimately, show the rest of the world that our actions in displacing them will also affect us in the West when they come seeking refuge,” says Dr Price.

It takes more than forty Bangladeshis to emit the equivalent in carbon dioxide of one American, according to the World Bank.

“These people have contributed virtually nothing to the problem of climate change, yet are facing the harshest punishment for our actions, or rather: inaction,” says Taylor.

“Although we can pass it off as their problem, the point is it’s morally our problem right now.”

ENDS

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