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Stop. Don’t go to Cannes without watching Mother & Steve McQueen’s Greenpeace film

Tired of that old trope about Boomers and Gen X destroying the planet? This film does everything to jolt you out of your complacency.

A collaboration between Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen, Mother and Greenpeace, the film shows decadent middle-aged party-goers ignoring the young people serving them – the generation for whom the future really matters.

Fleetwood Mac’s song Don’t Stop provides the soundtrack, but it no longer reassures us that tomorrow is another day; it becomes an urgent plea for us never to stop thinking about the future.

Steve McQueen said: “This short film captures the unease at seeing corporations and their enablers do damage to the environment on our behalf, acting like there’s no tomorrow and driving the climate crisis solely for their profit. But we have collective power to realise a different future. It’s imperative that people don’t forget, tomorrow is promised to no-one.”

Greenpeace’s mission is to inspire a new generation of climate activists, so the film will be shown on big screens at Glastonbury’s main stages throughout the festival. Glastonbury’s tote bags will get a Greenpeace-branded makeover with the words Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow.

It would be a good idea to show the film along the Croisette too. It is mesmerising, powerful yet entirely watchable, and for many Cannes delegates the scenes will be all-too familiar. Fleetwood Mac’s anthem will never be the same again.

MAA creative scale: 9.5

Created by Mother and Greenpeace in collaboration with Oscar-winning director McQueen and his protegé Samona Olanipekin, the film stars Will Poulter, who featured in The Revenant alongside Leonardo di Caprio as well as Dopesick on Disney +, Midsomar and Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The additional lyrics are by rapper Avelino, set to instrumentation by jazz talent development organisation Tomorrow’s Warriors and vocals from the House Gospel Choir.

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