At the end of June, I had the opportunity to attend the 5th annual Hollywood Climate Summit at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. As both a filmmaker and an educator, this felt like a unique space to immerse myself in. According to their website:
“The Hollywood Climate Summit organizes year-round, high energy convenings and creative labs for multi-sector media professionals to level up their climate knowledge, spark collaborations, deepen intersectional values, showcase innovation, and lead a cultural movement of sustained impact and climate action.”
I originally became aware of this event and even worked a part of it on their digital production team back in 2022. At the time I was a consultant for The Redford Center and got connected to the Summit through my colleague and Hollywood Climate Summit (HCS) Co-Founder, Heather Fipps. While working on this team two years ago, I saw the power and energy that came from bringing screenwriters, directors, impact producers, scientists, and studio executives together. Now I had the chance to experience this event in-person and I could not pass that opportunity up.
Before even getting to the event, I had to learn to navigate the LA Metro system, and that is no small feat coming from suburban North Carolina. When I travel these days, I do everything I can prioritize electric and public transportation methods. If we are going to have meaningful conversations about climate change, we need to walk our talk. I did appreciate that the HCS provided public transit directions to the venue from every direction. Whether many actually used public transit, is another story.
As someone who takes public transit to work on a semi-regular basis, I found the LA Metro to be rather intuitive, affordable ($18 weekly cap), and only slightly slower than if I were to drive myself. In addition to that, I never had to worry about parking and I got to see Los Angeles in a way I would never have as a driver.
Each day of the Hollywood Climate Summit consisted of a series of film screenings during the day and then a set of panel discussions in the evening. My hat is off to the whole event team for pulling 12+ hour days for almost an entire week.
One of the most interesting and eye-opening segments of the whole summit was the session The Mad Men of Big Oil that dove into the history and rise of corporate public relations. From the invention of the term “public relations” to the small group of individuals that wrote the playbook for disinformation and greenwashing for big tobacco and big oil decades ago that is still used today.
While there was plenty of despair and frustration in this session and several others, I ended the week with an overwhelming sense of hope and optimism. From the dozens of filmmakers, researchers, and community builders I met, I know that positive change can be made. It just takes a coalition to do it. No one can do it alone, and they do not have to.
I find hope in people like Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier seen here during the Destination Tomorrow: Inspiring “Flash Talks” session. They spoke to finding your story, your passion, and leaning in. Climate change is so big and so complex that it’s better to find what ignites your spark and lean into that. For Paul and Cristina, it is photographing the beauty and loss that is happening to the oceans around the world.
Whatever you are passionate about, use that to your advantage. We work best when we are emotionally invested. You do not have to be a photographer, filmmaker, politician, or activist to be a part of the climate movement. Every organization needs a graphic designer, a fundraiser, an administration specialist, literally any job can be a climate job. More than anything, we need to make the climate a part of our everyday conversations. Not just the doom and gloom, but also seeing it show up in our TV shows, movies, books, and businesses. If we make it a part of our everyday conversation, then it will become a part of subconscious decision making. That is why I was excited to see the new movie Twisters work so closely with the staff at NOAA to make sure that the science and tech is accurately represented. Will you be watching the new movie?
If you ever have the opportunity to attend the Hollywood Climate Summit, I highly recommend it! It’s even better if you can bring a friend. I want to thank the Hollywood Climate Summit team for all of their hard work putting on this event and for providing me with a scholarship to help offset the costs of this event. I cannot wait to come back again soon.
Will Freund 
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