Climate Tipping Point Film Festival to kick off in Taipei

氣候臨界影展將在台北開幕

10-day event features climate change documentaries and community action


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Climate Tipping Point Film Festival will begin this Friday in Taipei, spotlighting climate issues through visual storytelling, the Green Citizens' Action Alliance announced Wednesday.

The biennial event, running for 10 days this year, will be hosted at Spot-Huashan Cinema. This year’s program features 15 international, award-winning documentaries, with 13 making their Taiwan premiere.

Organized by the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, the festival seeks to promote environmental education through powerful visual storytelling. The alliance also plans to host a nationwide screening tour to engage a wider audience.

A wide-ranging program showcases documentaries from Kenya, Uganda, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Russia, Peru, the US, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The films are organized around three themes: “Climate Disaster Maps,” “Transboundary Climate Action,” and “Truth about Nuclear.”

These films highlight the interconnectedness of ecology, economy, politics, and society. They offer a global perspective on climate change while exploring its impact across borders, generations, and species.

Curator Chen Shih-ting (陳詩婷) emphasized the significance of the climate crisis, saying, “The centrality of the climate issue is the future of humanity, and photos are the most useful things for us to explain the situation.” The festival allows participants to reflect on how Taiwan can play a role in global climate action.

A joint 2024 report by the National Science and Technology Council and the Ministry of Environment warns that Taiwan could stop experiencing winters altogether by 2060 if current climate trends continue. According to the report, Taiwan's summers could stretch beyond 150 days by 2040, while winters could shrink to just 45 days by 2050.

The first theme, titled “Climate Disaster Maps,” presents a stark visual representation of the climate crisis in action, showcasing films about the harsh realities of a warming world.

One of the featured films, “The Last Ice Age,” brings attention to the most immediate consequence of global warming, the rapid melting of glaciers. “Dream to Cure Water,” set in the Andes of Peru, focuses on indigenous communities struggling with a critical water shortage exacerbated by the melting glaciers.

“White Flower” brings the focus to Taiwan, where the tropical corals are under threat due to climate-induced changes in the marine ecosystem. The film highlights the tipping point reached in the waters around Taiwan, where coral reefs are now vanishing at an alarming rate, signaling a major disruption in the marine environment.

Under the theme “Transboundary Climate Action,” the spotlight is on grassroots movements, community resilience, and individuals forging cross-border partnerships to build a sustainable future. These films underscore that climate action does not only stem from international accords or governmental institutions, but small actions.

The final theme, “Truth about Nuclear,” looks at the far-reaching impacts of nuclear energy and weaponry. The theme delves into the lived experiences of ordinary people whose lives have been shaped by the nuclear industry, from weapons production and testing to power plant disasters.

In keeping with its mission to make climate education accessible and inclusive, the festival offers free admission to all film screenings. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the Climate Cinema Service Counter, located outside the screening hall.

Audiences can begin collecting tickets 20 minutes before each screening. Each person is limited to two tickets.

The festival invites viewers to witness how different communities are confronting the climate crisis, and to consider how Taiwan can be part of a global solution.