I had watched the trailer online and briefly read about the film on the website before watching Rise of the Eco-Warriors, but nothing could prepare me for the magnitude of the issue occurring in Borneo and the incredible journey that the 15/11 young people embarked on to achieve whatever was humanly possible in 100 days.
As a young Australian, I feel that we are not exposed enough to the real global issues that will pose additional threats to the world that our children and grandchildren will have to inhabit. This film is a perfect example of the type of content, style and combination of characters to be shown in schools around the world to inspire young people to act.
The threat to Borneo's forests, people and wildlife is the growing expansion of the palm oil industry, resulting in illegal deforestation to make way for the plants that are used in many daily household products. The effects of this activity is disastrous: locals' land is being cleared without permission, they aren't able to compete with the huge companies to sustain their previous income, and animals are being forced out of their natural habitat.
In the first Act, the 15 eco-warriors travel to Borneo and spend 20 days getting a first hand experience on the ground to fathom the extent of destruction occurring in this area, and then form groups to focus on four key areas to stop the palm oil companies and to heal the local community.
5 months on, 11 of the eco-warriors return and face the problem of raising the sufficient funds needed to implement their projects. After a lot of helpful advice from the great Dr Willie Smits and some touching experiences with the local people, the team pull together to build the foundations of an initiative that can progress after the eco-warriors departure.
The film has an appropriate balance of tension, realisations, peaks and confrontations to construct a documentary that is both moving and motivating. And of course whenever an orangutan is featured there is no doubt that a tear will sneak up to your eye.
After watching this film I feel empowered to help this cause and bring my power to save these people and animals. The sheer ignorance of these huge palm oil companies is unruly and their actions need to be stopped.
I highly recommend this film because it allows a raw insight into one of the many world issues that are affecting innocent communities today, and there is no doubt that the young eco-warriors that chose to lead the project are committed, passionate and driven, which ignites the fire in all of us.
As a young Australian, I feel that we are not exposed enough to the real global issues that will pose additional threats to the world that our children and grandchildren will have to inhabit. This film is a perfect example of the type of content, style and combination of characters to be shown in schools around the world to inspire young people to act.
The threat to Borneo's forests, people and wildlife is the growing expansion of the palm oil industry, resulting in illegal deforestation to make way for the plants that are used in many daily household products. The effects of this activity is disastrous: locals' land is being cleared without permission, they aren't able to compete with the huge companies to sustain their previous income, and animals are being forced out of their natural habitat.
In the first Act, the 15 eco-warriors travel to Borneo and spend 20 days getting a first hand experience on the ground to fathom the extent of destruction occurring in this area, and then form groups to focus on four key areas to stop the palm oil companies and to heal the local community.
5 months on, 11 of the eco-warriors return and face the problem of raising the sufficient funds needed to implement their projects. After a lot of helpful advice from the great Dr Willie Smits and some touching experiences with the local people, the team pull together to build the foundations of an initiative that can progress after the eco-warriors departure.
The film has an appropriate balance of tension, realisations, peaks and confrontations to construct a documentary that is both moving and motivating. And of course whenever an orangutan is featured there is no doubt that a tear will sneak up to your eye.
After watching this film I feel empowered to help this cause and bring my power to save these people and animals. The sheer ignorance of these huge palm oil companies is unruly and their actions need to be stopped.
I highly recommend this film because it allows a raw insight into one of the many world issues that are affecting innocent communities today, and there is no doubt that the young eco-warriors that chose to lead the project are committed, passionate and driven, which ignites the fire in all of us.