SYNOPSIS
The world's glaciers are disappearing and the first ones to die are where you'd least expect to find them - on the equator.
Tim Jarvis is a polar explorer and environmental scientist who famously recreated both Shackleton's and Mawson’s Antarctic expeditions. 25zero is a documentary that follows him and his team as they search for the mysterious and vulnerable glaciers of the tropics. These natural rivers of ice have existed for millenia, but will all be gone in 25 years or less.
Through the film, we follow Tim as he climbs these peaks, meets the locals and explores some of the most remote regions on the planet.
While the fate of these glaciers are sealed; world leaders, big corporations and us as individuals continue on our course of inaction leading to the inevitable question: ‘what else are we prepared to lose?’
DIRECTOR’S STATEMTENT
I looked out to see our ship disappearing into the darkness of the South Atlantic and decided that I was probably the remotest person on Earth. We were on the East Coast of South Georgia Island, some 5 days sail from the bottom of South America and while only at 54 degrees south it’s considered part of the sub-antarctic with a truly polar weather system. As the sun rose a few hours later, it was also clear why it’s also considered one of the most pristine environments in the world.
The following day we hiked the 3 kilometers up the valley to the terminal of the Koenig Glacier, a glacier that once tumbled into the ocean when Earnest Shackleton made his survival crossing over 100 years earlier. Despite its distance from the rest of civilisation even South Georgia hasn’t escaped the effects of human induced climate change. As rivers of meltwater thundered around us we all sat in silence digesting the scale of the problem and the difficult road ahead.
Yet the scale of ice loss in an environment like South Georgia can be lost on people: “There’s so much ice still there” we heard some of the tourists say once back on the ship. There clearly is a need for a better symbol that shows the climatic health of the planet.
Climate Change is the greatest threat facing our generation, yet the fight to campaign for the Earth’s longevity is a tough one. From political inaction, general unwillingness and saturation of all kinds of messaging - it’s a difficult sell and a struggle to get peoples attention. What’s needed is a strong message with a hook.
The 25zero hook is the equatorial glaciers. While it’s intriguing that glaciers have existed along the equator for hundreds of thousands of years it’s truly shocking the rate they are fading with decreases of over 90% in some areas. With climate change, seeing is believing and this makes for incredibly powerful imagery.
This film focuses on the 25zero team finding some of the rarest and most vulnerable glaciers of East Africa.
With current predictions showing a 5 degree warmer planet by the century’s end, the writing is on the wall for these glaciers and so the question begs: What are we prepared to lose next?
TIM JARVIS - SCIENTIST/ HOST
Tim Jarvis AM is an environmental explorer, adventurer, climber, author and documentary filmmaker, with Masters qualifications in environmental science and environmental law. He is committed to finding pragmatic solutions to major environmental issues related to climate change and biodiversity loss. On 20 November 2014, Jarvis was announced as WWF-Australia Global Ambassador and in November 2016 global adventure-wear brand Kathmandu announced Jarvis as their global brand ambassador. Tim Jarvis is widely considered one of the world’s leading speakers and also currently works as a Senior Associate of Sustainability to global engineering solutions firm Arup.
MILES ROWLAND - DIRECTOR / DOP
As a child Miles was occupied by two things: playing with cameras and telling stories. Thus a career as a documentary film maker was the perfect calling.
Miles has a long history in advertising - shooting and directing TV Commercials for many global brands - but has been focusing on documentary production for the last 5 years. His specialty has always been in human stories, travel and the outdoors. His most recent credits include factual content for Discovery Channel, National Geographic and CBC Canada.
As a committed vegetarian, passionate environmentalist, and adventurer, the 25zero project is a perfect fit.
PRODUCED BY GOODTHING PRODUCTIONS
Producer: Charlotte Wheaton
Executive Producers: Virginia Whitwell & Nick Batzias
Formed in 2018, award winning GoodThing Productions’ team embody rich experience across the industry. Founder and Managing Partner Nick Batzias worked in distribution for over 15 years industry. Founder and Managing Partner Nick Batzias worked in distribution for over 15 years working on the acquisition and release of hundreds of titles before moving to producing 8 years ago. Head of Production and Producer Virginia Whitwell has worked in drama production for over 20 years including projects for Warner Bros, HBO, Lucasfilm, EON, 20thCentury Fox and Universal. Factual Producer Charlotte Wheaton has worked all over the world on landmark documentaries for the BBC, History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic and PBS. Together the team have produced 3 of the top 10 Australian documentaries of all time. The company also has a highly effective impact team helmed by Producer Anna Kaplan, creating new ways for audience to engage with our projects and ideas, extending the life of the projects well beyond their initial release. Together the team have worked on hundreds of hours of drama and factual projects and have significant experience of the international market.
