By United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Simone Giampaolo
Only a Child - Official Poster (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Only a Child film poster
My name is Simone Giampaolo and I am one of the 26 #OneStepGreener Ambassadors for COP26.
For the past 7 years I’ve been working as an Animation Director in central London, focusing mostly on animated commissioned films, commercials and TV series.
Only a Child - Trailer (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Only a Child official trailer
Original Speech Video (2020) by Roman KaelinUnited Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Severn Suzuki at the UN at the earth Summit 1992
Severn’s words truly shocked (and moved) me because they are as relevant today as they were almost 30 years ago, when they were pronounced at the UN Summit in Rio in 1992.
Behind the scenes (2020) by Simone GiampaoloUnited Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Behind the scenes of Only a Child
I reached out to Severn via e-mail and proposed my idea to her. She was immediately interested about this potential collaboration, giving me her permission and blessing to use the speech to create a meaningful animated film.
While listening to the speech, I started envisioning it as a collective film created with several different animation techniques (a metaphor for many different countries or nations coming together for reaching the same goal).
Artists (1992)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
The people behind the film
I contacted Amka Films (a production company based in the Italian side of Switzerland, where I'm originally from), and I pitched the concept to them. Amka's producers were enthusiastic about the proposal, and agreed to help me apply for funding to make this project come true.
Only a Child - Official Poster (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
In 2018 (just before the #fridaysforfuture climate strike movement became a global phenomenon) I re-discovered Severn Cullis-Suzuki's famous speech and immediately felt the urge to adapt it into an animated short film.
Since I started making animation, I had always dreamed of crafting an ambitious film that could combine every animation technique in existence (stop-frame, CG, 2D, sand, paint on glass...), and with ONLY A CHILD we assembled an incredible array of artists to achieve it.
Meeting Severn (2020) by Justine KlaiberUnited Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Meeting Severn
In 2019 we met Severn for the first time in person. She was in Switzerland for a conference. We showed her a work in progress of the film to hear her thoughts and opinions. The short was still crude and unpolished then but it was enough for her to love it.
Severn's Statement (2020) by Patrick GrafUnited Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
It was a very touching and positive encounter, and we took that incredible chance to ask Severn a few questions about today’s youth environmental movement, her beliefs and the future.
Film Segment from 'Only a Child' by Simone Giampaolo (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Excerpt of Only a Child
So far the film has been presented at over 70 international film festivals worldwide (winning several awards) and is often screened in classrooms to spark conversations about climate change among students.
Here is an excerpt created by the very talented Roman Kaelin.
Still Image A (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Still image from Only a Child, created by Justine Klaiber.
Still image from Only a Child, created by Justine Klaiber.
Still Image B (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
Still image from Only a Child, created by Patrick Graf.
Severn's Appreciation (2020)United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26
A lovely video message we received from Severn after she watched the completed film!
Severn and her children
This picture appears at the end of the film with the message: A generation later, climate change and the 6th mass extinction are here. Today's youth know we are almost out of time to turn the tide, yet they refuse to give up hope. We can't afford to wait another generation.
Today Severn’s focus is the nexus of decline in diversity of biodiversity, worldviews, economies, language, traditional knowledge and identity.
She holds an M.Sc. in Ethnoecology from the University of Victoria, and is currently a Vanier and Public scholar PhD candidate studying endangered language revitalization.
Severn lives on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off the coast of British Columbia, with her husband Judson Brown and their two sons.
Simone Giampaolo (http://simone-giampaolo.com/)
Severn Cullis-Suzuki (https://severncullissuzuki.com/)
AMKA Films (https://www.amka.ch/film/only-a-child/)
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/onlyachildanimatedshort/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/onlyachildshortfilm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/onlyachild_film
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