I am Greta

The general election was approaching and with her sit-in protest Greta wanted to show how important the climate question was, and how little it was being taken into account. I kept to one side with the intention of shooting for a day or two to see what would happen. I’m a documentary director with a background in photography: during that first week I was so fascinated by the expressions Greta was making that all I wanted to do was snatch my camera from its tripod and sit down on the pavement with her. We began to chat and she was very shy, but I realized that as long as we spoke about the subjects that interested her, she was happy to talk. I did everything by myself: I was, at one and the same time, director, director of photography and sound engineer. We decided to go on shooting during her trip to the United States. We were all caught up in the narrative, and though I was afraid of the difficulties we might encounter, I felt that the story deserved to be told. I think it must have been very strange for Greta to see herself on the screen, something I understand that perfectly. She’s not doing all she does to become a celebrity, she’s doing it to tell the story of climate change and spread her message. Once Greta told me that she was afraid of not recognizing herself in the film, that I might transform her into someone else. For two years I bent over backwards to measure up to her expectations. The point of view is hers, just as every word she says is her own.

“I like the film a lot and I think it conveys a realistic image of me and my daily life. I hope that anyone seeing it will understand at last that we young people are protesting because we have no choice. A lot has happened since everything began but, alas, we are still at the point where we started from. The changes and level of awareness needed are still nowhere to be seen. All we ask is for our society to address the climate crisis as a serious crisis and ensure us a safe future. I think the film shows how all this is still a long way from happening. It demonstrates that the message hasn’t been understood yet.” (Greta Thunberg)