Not Without Us

Mark Decena's documentary centers on a network of international grassroots groups attempting to exert influence on governments participating in the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015, which resulted in the landmark Paris Accords that boldly addressed efforts to combat climate change. Not Without Us backtracks to nine months before the conference, when informal meetings held in Tunisia attract a variety of experts to discuss the impact of climate change, with a particular focus on how indigenous populations are finding their cultures altered by environmental disruptions. Also discussed is the role that oil corporations have on governments and on the United Nations' efforts to battle climate change. Complicating matters are the grassroots groups who conduct protests in Paris while the talks are underway (a terrorist attack in the French capital two weeks before the event drastically changed the security situation, effectively silencing protestors who wanted to use public spaces to be seen and heard). Decena's film offers an interesting look at outside forces trying—sometimes, it seems, in vain—to become equal partners in a process where their input is neither requested nor desired by the world's power brokers. The Trump administration's widely reviled decision to pull the U.S out of the Paris Accords agreement makes this a highly relevant documentary. Also featuring a 56-minute abridged cut, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)