Movies and documentaries about sustainability and (the future of) the planet
Greenjobs.nl has listed a selection of documentaries about sustainability and the planet for you. Documentaries about the influence of fashion, agriculture and the bio industry on the planet but also documentaries about the power of nature, animals and climate activism. Confronting but also inspiring, moving, beautiful documentaries.
Where can I watch movies and documentaries about sustainability?
Some of the documentaries in the list below can be viewed for free on Waterbear. WaterBear is a streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet. Enjoy award-winning documentaries, enlightening short films and impressive series. Learn more about exceptional organizations that want to save our planet by watching free movies with impact.
Some of the documentaries can also be viewed on other streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime or YouTube. If you don't have those streaming services, you can always go to Waterbear to watch movies for free.
List of movies and documentaries we recommend:
- SLAY
SLAY follows filmmaker Rebecca Cappelli's journey around the world to expose the dark side of the fashion industry. Rebecca's investigation into the animal skin trade unravels a gripping story of greenwashing, mislabelling, animal cruelty and cover-ups of some of the world's biggest luxury fashion brands. SLAY offers an in-depth and dazzling look at the realities of today's fashion industry while pointing the way to viable and sustainable alternatives.
Duration: 1h 25m - Greta Thunberg: Rebel with a cause
No matter how small, every voice can make a world of difference. Follow the incredible true story of Greta Thunberg as she grew from a lonely teenage rebel to an international revolutionary icon.
Duration: 50m - Milked
A young activist goes deep into dairy country where he takes on the giants of New Zealand's most powerful industry. His journey exposes not only the sustainability crisis and the dangerous denial of impending agricultural disruption, but also what New Zealand and other countries must do to change their fate.
Duration: 1h 29m - The black mermaid
Throughout history, black communities have had an insidious relationship with water, which African folklore portrays as a powerful yet destructive entity. This is a story never told before, but needed now more than ever: a contemporary story about the black mermaid, Zandile Ndhlovu, who is changing the perception of the ocean in her community since 2016, when she overcame her fears and fell in love with freediving.
Duration: 9m - Racing extinction
Spanning the globe to infiltrate the world's most dangerous black markets for endangered species, this documentary reveals never-before-seen footage that truly changes the way we see the world. Director Louie Psihoyos assembles a team of artists and activists and team up for another undercover operation to uncover the hidden world of endangered species and the race to protect them from mass destruction.
Duration: 1h 34m - Just eat it
Filmmakers and food enthusiasts Jen and Grant decide to trace the journey of waste: from the farm, through the retailer, all the way back to their own refrigerator. This film follows them as they decide to live off food waste for a year. An easily devised plan, which soon becomes more complicated than imagined, as the pair are tested by unexpected obstacles along the way.
Duration: 1h 13m - The decade of Action
Companies must save the planet if they want to save themselves. And they have ten years to do that. Visit the website of The decade of action for more information.
Duration: 35m - Biggest little farm
A couple from Los Angeles is raising money to build a biodiverse farm. An adventure with highs and lows that started as a promise to their dog.
Duration: 1h 31m - A life on our planet
David Attenborough talks about his life and the evolutionary history of life on Earth, laments the loss of nature and offers a vision for the future.
Duration: 1h 23m - Seaspiracy
A filmmaker with a passion for oceans shows the damage humans are doing to marine species. Disturbing global corruption is exposed. Read more about this? Then visit the Seaspiracy website.
Duration: 1h 30m - Cowspiracy
Discover how factory farming is decimating the planet's natural resources, and why this crisis has been largely ignored by many major environmental organizations.
Duration: 1h 30m - The True Cost
This is a story about clothes. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make those clothes and the impact it has on our world. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary that has pulled the curtains aside for an untold story and asks us all to think about who pays the price for our clothes?
Duration: 50m - My Octopus Teacher
A filmmaker forms a special bond with an octopus who lives in a South African kelp forest and makes him part of her mysterious world.
Duration: 1h 25m - The minimalists: Less is now
Good friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus have built a movement from minimalism. They tell how our lives can be better with less.
Duration: 53m - Supersize me
In director Morgan Spurlock's social experiment in fast food gastronomy, he tries to live off the McDonald's menu in a unique way for a month. In the process, his weight increases, his energy levels plummet, and he experiences all sorts of unexpected — and terrifying — side effects. He also examines the corporate giant's growing role in the lives of American consumers and its methods of indoctrinating young people and contributing to the US obesity epidemic.
Duration: 1h 40m - Ascend
Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Rabia Hussain had a fair amount of autonomy for women in Afghanistan, able to pursue their education, go to work and explore hobbies and interests. Joining Ascend, a nonprofit organization teaching leadership and rock climbing to women, gave them the chance to test their personal and cultural limits and explore the mountains of their home country. But when the Taliban took over in August 2021, Ascend became their one chance to escape a regime that would restrict their freedoms and future. Watch more movies by Patagonia on their website.
Duration: 19m - Kiss the ground
Scientists and celebrity contributors show how Earth's soil can hold the key to fighting climate change and preserving the planet.
Duration: 1h 24m - The Shitthropocene
Patagonia just dropped a new film called "The Shitthropocene." It takes a funny, yet serious look at how our consumption habits are impacting the planet. The film humorously points out how everything seems to be going downhill due to our obsession with buying stuff.
Duration: 47m - The dark side of the energy transition and digitalization | VPRO Tegenlicht
In the Tegenlicht special 'The Rare Metals War', Guillaume Pitron warns about the dark side of the energy transition and digitalization.
Duur: 26m
What can you do for the climate yourself?
Very nice these viewing tips, but what do you do after you've seen a movie that changes your view on something? Because besides the fact that there are beautiful films, some films are very confrontational and that can be difficult to process or feel demotivating, but don't give up! Whether it's about fashion or the bio-industry, give yourself time to absorb it all, don't try to change too many things for yourself at once. Remember that it always makes sense to commit to a better world.
Engaging with sustainability and inequality in this world ensures that you take small steps that are good for yourself and the earth, and who knows, you might inspire other people around you. Don't know where to start? Start, for example, by looking for a sustainable job, because how great if with all those hours in your life that you spend working you can also have a positive impact on the planet.
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