World Earth Day: 5 documentaries to inspire you to make a difference

There are lots of ideas here for helping to save the planet – watch them all if you can!

Abu Dhabi will be observing Earth Hour 2021 on 27 March, an internationally observed event when people around the world join in by switching off lights in a collective effort to raise awareness about our impact on the environment.

Earth Hour is a symbolic way to show support for the different initiatives that are trying to bring about positive change to combat environmental deterioration. 

Abu Dhabi in fact has its own environmental feature film thanks to the wonderful team at Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Team Yalla had the honour of being in the audience when it premiered. 

Call us inspired but blame the documentary Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra, which had us go hunting for films.

So, we have put together this list of documentaries that we think you should definitely watch!

 

Albatross 

 

World Earth Day: 5 Documentaries To Inspire You To Make A Difference

 

A powerful visual journey into the heart of an astonishingly symbolic environmental tragedy. On one of the remotest islands on our planet, tens of thousands of baby albatrosses lie dead on the ground, their bodies filled with plastic. Returning to the island over several years, the documentary reveals the cycles of life and death of these birds as a multi-layered metaphor for our times.

 

Salt of the Earth

 

World Earth Day: 5 Documentaries To Inspire You To Make A Difference

 

Over the course of 40 years, photographer Sebastião Salgado has borne witness to the plights of marginalised communities the world over, from famines to civil wars to unsafe labour conditions. Now he turns his camera toward another subject under threat – our natural world – framing pristine landscapes and bounties of biodiversity within a huge project celebrating the environment.

 

Walden

 

World Earth Day: 5 Documentaries To Inspire You To Make A Difference

 

Walden was produced in consultation with the Walden Woods project. The documentary focuses on the relationship between the author and philosopher’s, Henry David Thoreau, philosophy and contemporary societal and environmental challenges.

 

Wasted

 

World Earth Day: 5 Documentaries To Inspire You To Make A Difference

 

Every year 80 per cent of the world’s water, 40 per cent of the world’s land, and 10 per cent of the world’s energy is dedicated to growing the food we eat, yet in the same year 1.3 billion tons of food is thrown out. That’s a third of all food grown around the world being wasted before it even reaches a plate. WASTED! The Story of Food Waste sheds light on the pressing issue of food waste.

 

Before the Flood

 

World Earth Day: 5 Documentaries To Inspire You To Make A Difference

 

Starring Academy Award-winning actor, environmental activist and UN Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio, Before the Flood takes viewers on a journey across the globe that features several environmentalists, scientists who reiterate the urgency of climate change and the power that we as individuals possess to make a collective difference. 

Image source: IMDB 

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Derek Issacs

A Brit in the Middle East for 25 years and counting, Derek loves scouring the streets for those under-the-radar cultural gems. And when he’s not putting Yalla – Abu Dhabi magazine to bed, you’ll find him working out at the gym.