Sustainable documentaries for cuddly days: thought provoking movies

by Hanna, on

The internal office name of this blog post is “winter cuddle blog” as we want to provide green inspirations for the cuddly days after (or even before) Christmas. Brew yourself a cup of tea, chill out on the couch and browse through our exciting tips for documentation films. And since one or the other content may have a depressing effect, we also recommended some cheering movies at the end. (header picture: © AdobeStock / chris74)

Let us know which documentaries are still missing on the list and which ones we should watch as well!

Climate change:

One of the very first documentation films covering the issues sustainability and climate change was “An inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore of 2006. The second part was released in 2017.

Food and diet:

What we eat has a huge impact on the environment. Whether it concerns the fertilizer used in agriculture, or the negative side effects of factory farming. These documentation films bring up this painful subject and show what’s going wrong in our system.

  • Cowspiracy – The Sustainability Secret (Trailer)
    You can download the film or buy as DVD on www.cowspiracy.com.
  • What the Health (Trailer)
    sometimes referred to as “Cowspiracy 2”
  • Food Inc. (Trailer)
    Covering the food production and who’s behind it.
  • We feed the world (Trailer)
    Similar topic as “Food Inc.” but refers more to the European instead of the US market.
  • The Dairy System (only German so far) (Trailer)
    Is about the small and big players in the dairy industry and spotlights prevalent deficits.
  • Our Farmer – German/Austrian (Trailer)
  • Taste the waste
    More than half of our food ends up in the trash.

 

 

  • Fed up (Trailer)
    About the sugar industry and how our lifestyle makes us sick
  • Fork over Knives (Trailer)
    About the effects of nutrition on our body and the typical civilization diseases, also featuring Prof. Dr. T. Campbell who was in charge for the China Study.

If you are looking for more statistical evidences of benefits of plant-based wholefood, I can recommend these two books: The China Study and How not to die. The thematic focus is more on how diet affects our bodies. How not do die, in particular, is very diverting and fun to read. Though, probably, the books won’t suit hard-boiled meat lovers 😉

Fashion

  • The True Cost
    An honest and insightful documentation showing anyone pays the price of cheap fast fashion. :´-(
    https://truecostmovie.com

 

 

Plastic, Plastic, Plastic

  • A plastic ocean (Trailer)
    “Change is possible, it starts with us”
  • Drowning in plastic (Trailer)
    Just as the name says: we’re drowning in plastic

Less is more

  • Minimalism: A Documentary about the important things
    “I don’t know what the most common three words are in American homes. I don’t know if it’s “I love you” or “I want that”.”
    https://minimalismfilm.com
  • Welcome to Sodom – your smartphone has already arrived (Trailer)
    …is about the largest landfill of our planet in Ghana and the people living and working there. Following this, you will reconsider your own consumption for sure!

 

Since we recommended mostly demanding/difficult topics before, find some lighter films below:

 

Of bees and gardens

  • More than honey (Trailer)
    “Who pollinates better, humans or bees?”
  • Inhabit – A Permaculture Perspective
    “An economy that’s aligned with permaculture would be an economy in which the best business decision is the same as the best ecological decision.”

 

 

Travel:

  • Far. The story of a journey around the globe (German) (Trailer)
    Around the globe within three and a half years – without taking the plane: The impressive story motivates and inspires to travelslowlywhile making authentic experiences.
  • Free Solo (Trailer)
    Only suitable for those not scared of heights!

Marvel and relax

  • EARTH 1 and EARTH 2
    … enjoy breathtaking pictures of nature!

 

 

Setting a good example

  • Tomorrow (Trailer)
    Searching for solutions regarding our future
  • Human (Trailer)
    A movie about humans – with all their similarities and differences.
  • Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future
    “If we really were in love with nature and incorporated that love into all of our systems, we would not have an ecological crisis.”