The Time We Have Left

Synopsis

Two years ago, doc filmmaker Niobe Thompson began to worry about how his way of life might be robbing the same life chances from his daughters.  He began to wonder, “What kind of world will they live in when it’s time for them to have their own children?"

A Cambridge-trained anthropologist, Thompson has spent his filmmaking career immersed in climate science.  But with children of his own, what he was learning as a scientist was becoming a personal crisis.  Travelling the globe to interview climate scientists, he was struck by the private pessimism his colleagues would share when the camera wasn't rolling.  They would give on-camera interviews that emphasized solutions and hope.  But afterwards, they talked about the same worries: is it too late, are we reaching the tipping point, is it ethical to raise children in a climate emergency?

Thompson had a growing conviction the usual approaches to science documentary weren’t getting through.  Audiences respond to stories they can identify with - characters they recognize with some familiarity.  So, he invited narrative filmmaker Blake McWilliam to join a new project, conceived to marry the best available science with an intimate narrative approach.

These two very different visual storytellers – a scientist and a fiction director – confronted their anxiety for the future and asked themselves, “Who are the best characters to embody our fears?”

Committed to answering this question, Thompson and McWilliam have crafted a chilling science short documentary in narrative form, THE TIME WE HAVE LEFT.