Two rising seniors at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle have teamed up with other youth across the state to create a film that brings to center stage the stories of Maine youth advocating for solutions to accelerating climate change.

For the film, storytellers are being recruited from every county and will reflect the diversity of ages, cultural/racial/social backgrounds, and gender identities that define Maine’s youth climate movement today. The film is scheduled for completion in December 2020.

Isaac Russell, of Newcastle, a student who aspires to become a professional filmmaker and is active in the Lincoln Academy Climate Action Club where he’s documenting the Club’s activities, is the intern videographer and editor for the film. Believing that “film has the power to captivate and persuade like no other medium,” Russell said, “that’s why I’m really excited to be working on this project.”

Riley Stevenson, of Waldoboro, also a student at Lincoln Academy where she is co-president of the Climate Action Club, serves on the film’s youth advisory team. Active in leadership of several statewide youth climate action organizations, including Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Maine Youth Climate Strikes, Coastal Youth Climate Coalition, and the Maine Environmental Education Association’s Changemakers network, Stevenson is playing a key role in identifying compelling stories and storytellers for the film.

Stevenson said: "I am excited about this project because I believe it is of utmost importance to lift up and amplify youth voices right now, especially those in marginalized communties, and this film will do just that.” She added: “Maine has great potential to make positive change in the climate sector, and I believe we need to listen to the voices highlighted in this film in order to make those changes."

Participating on the film advisory team with Stevenson are a young mother from Norway and high school and college students from Bar Harbor, Fryeburg, Bangor area, Hollis, and the Penobscot Indian Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe. The team will be recruiting a youth composer/musician to score the film and a youth artist to create graphics for the film screenings and presentations that are planned for the spring 2021.

“Maine Youth Voices for Climate Justice,” a working title for the film, is a project of Down to Earth Storytelling. Founded four years ago by Andy Burt, of Edgecomb, Down to Earth Storytelling has produced two films featuring the stories of Maine climate justice activists and the solutions they have inspired.

Burt partners with Wiscasset-based videographer Charlie Hudson, of Hudson Media Empire. For this new film, Burt and Hudson are providing fundraising and technical support to the youth leaders and storytellers.

The Eleanor Humes Haney Fund, a Maine foundation funding primarily small, Maine-based social, economic and environmental justice projects, has provided upfront support for the youth-led project.

“I have been working as an adult ally with youth climate activists for several years, and inspired by their stories, I approached them with the idea of helping them to produce a film featuring their concerns and accomplishments as they work for thriving communities that support a just future for all,” Burt said. “I look forward to seeing their creation on the big screen.”