Films / Just Do It

UK | Documentary Feature | 2011 | 90 | Website

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Director: Emily James
Film source: Just Do It Films

An engaging, whimsical documentary about British direct action climate activists called Just Do It — A Tale of Modern-Day Outlaws. The film’s award-winning director, Emily James, spent over a year following groups such as Climate Camp and Plane Stupid as they planned, plotted, and carried direct action campaigns that included throwing tennis balls filled with food to striking workers at a wind turbine factory, attempting to shut down a power plant, and disrupting work at a major bank. The film culminates at the 2009 UN climate change meet in Copenhagen.

James went over fences, through mud, in daylight and twilight, to capture over 300 hours of footage. She was so inspired by the activists’ dedication that she made the film with no budget at all. She had to dip into her tax savings to keep herself and her two-year-old son fed while she filmed and edited over 300 hours of tape to create this well-crafted, upbeat film. For one eventful year, Emily James was allowed unprecedented access to film the secretive world of environmental direct action. Two years later, Just Do It – A Tale of Modern-Day Outlaws, hit the big screen.
The film is a story of people standing up for what they believe in and making themselves heard. But it was a story that needed to be told without the creative constraints of traditional production models or the editorial control of big investors. And so it was that Just Do It – the totally independent project – was born.