Why I Can't Give Up - Join me in 2023 to Keep Hope Alive!
Why I Can't Give Up - Join me in 2023 to Keep Hope Alive!
Update from filmmaker Kasha Sequoia Slavner
You will know the amazing work of Kasha Sequoia Slavner as a reader of PeaceQuest. We featured her ground-breaking filmmaking two years ago when we interviewed her about peace and climate activism.
We received this update and request from her this week. Please send your love and support.
Stand with Me in 2023
Kasha Sequoia Slavner - Director of 1.5 Degrees of Peace. On location - Glasgow, Scotland - Global Climate Strike - COP26
Together we can do this!
Hello Friends:
I am writing with an URGENT request. 2022 has been a challenging year personally and collectively.
A year ago in November 2021, I was preparing to set out for COP26 in Glasgow for my first production shoot for 1.5 Degrees of Peace. I was on a mission to uncover if peace was going to be part of the climate conversation. It wasn’t. With the exception of a few signs in the global climate march there was nothing inside the halls of COP26 in Glasgow to indicate that it was even on the agenda. This was disheartening to say the least.
A few months later, no one could have predicted what would come next.
Unfortunately, it took a war in Ukraine to bring this message into the spotlight. In the past year, we’ve now also come closer to nuclear war than ever before. Sadly, our leaders have shown us how they've moved further away from diplomatic and peacebuilding interventions. Governments are increasing their military budgets while failing to live up to their climate commitments.
At COP27 this past November, flooded with a 25% increase in fossil fuel delegates, news was only slightly more promising. There were a few dozen panels and events connecting peace, security and climate justice which I had the opportunity to document and obtain some key interviews with important messages that need to get out.
Now, more than ever, we need to build a unified movement for peace and climate justice. Or, as our good friend and fellow filmmaker Arthur Kanegis, Director of the incredibly inspiring film “The World is My Country”, would say - we need "a people powered movement”. And, I’m counting on your help to make this happen.
Pandemics, the climate emergency, the amplification of military budgets, food and economic insecurity, all heighten the urgency of why I need to get my film out there ASAP!
Urgent Reminder: we only have 6+ years to meet our 1.5 Degree target. A target which is not a goal but a red line if we’re to stave off the worst of what’s to come.
Giving up is not an option
This is why for the past few years, I have been working NON-STOP around the clock working on my documentary and building community. I’m about half-way through initial filming now, thanks to receiving a few small arts grants and monies donated by generous individuals like you via our fiscal sponsors.
I am so grateful for these funds which helped me get out in the field to cover key events in five locations this past year. Yet, there’s so much more to do and my small but determined team is exhausted.
We’re spending most of our time fundraising where we need to concentrate on getting this film shot, edited and in the public domain as soon as possible.
You see, we’re running out of time - quite literally - to meet the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees. Simultaneously, the military industrial complex are amplifying their efforts, increasing their budgets and locking us into a perpetual cycle of violence against people and the planet. We need to stop this before it’s too late!
Imagine This!
Take a moment to imagine the state of our planet 5, 10, 20 years down the road when my generation will be forced to deal with the irreparable damage of what's to come if we fail to act today.
Actually, you don’t really have to think that far ahead because the reality is so many young people in my generation living in the Global South are already facing the nexus of these issues and suffering the consequences.
We need human and planetary mutually assured (common) security not increased military security. This requires bold and brave solutions which many of the inspiring young people in my film are bringing forth. Now, imagine the possibilities!
Urgent Call to Action
1.5 Degrees of Peace, my feature-length documentary, was conceived 3.5 years ago. My intention was to have the film completed in 2020 but I didn’t anticipate the 2+ year pandemic which would hinder its production.
So, you see, we’re already behind schedule and this increases my level of anxiety exponentially as the climate crisis and geopolitical situation intensify. Progress leading up to COP28 is critical now.
My goal is to release the film before that so we can quickly mobilize a movement.
Why is it so hard to gather support for a peaceful and climate-safe future? We all know what is at stake - a livable planet for the future. It's been a huge challenge to sustain this work without sufficient funding for so many years.
Many of you have been kind supporters on this journey so far. Thank you so much for this help and please if you are able to renew your support that would be very much appreciated. (See how to at the bottom of this email.) Or, you could share this email with your networks, encourage them to.
The next phase of our production is scheduled to commence in February 2023. We are in a REAL race against the climate clock and the threat of or even accidental nuclear war. It’s urgent that we complete this film and bring it to the masses.
Help Us Grow The Movement
We need to reach new supporters to join us for the year ahead. We are looking to increase the number of contributions - so if you haven't yet donated, any amount, even $5 or $10 - is greatly appreciated. Scroll to the end of the email to see how.
If everyone who reads this letter would donate, no matter the size, it would help immensely. I’d be able to cover expenses to get this film & its educational resources, made sooner rather than later...and later is not in any of our best interests.
The combination of social media, email, word-of-mouth, PLUS donations will make a world of difference. Please share with your networks and to any lists you are on, with a short personal note at the start to let them know why you support 1.5 Degrees of Peace so others will see that this is an important film. Tag us in your social media and we’ll repost as well.
Please donate here:
For those who need a tax receipt for their donation you can contribute to our project through The Redford Center if you're based in the USA or through Science 4 Peace if you're based in Canada. Use the link below:
➡️ https://www.1point5degreesofpeace.com/contribute
If no tax receipt is required, please use this link:
➡️ https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KV8Y3VAPFACSG
Producer & Legacy Producer credits in the film also available.
Email us for more info at theglobalsunriseproject@gmail.com
Watch the award-winning demo below
Watch: https://www.1point5degreesofpeace.com/
🙏Thanks so much for whatever you can contribute! 🙏
We appreciate EVERY donation.
No donation is too modest to make a difference!
You're helping to bring the inspiring stories of youth on the frontlines to audiences around the world, stories that will inspire hope AND action. We can do this together!
♥️ With gratitude, love and good wishes, ♥️
Kasha Sequoia Slavner
Director, Writer, Cinematographer
1.5 Degrees of Peace
Guest Presenter: Militarism & Climate Change: Disaster in Progress - Science4Peace, 2021