Michelle Dado-Millynn wants viewers of her documentary Women and the Power of Activism to feel empowered in their individual ability to drive change, and to learn from everyday women (without celebrity glamour or limitless funds) who are doing just that.
And if you’re not convinced by the environmental arguments, then the undeniable economic benefits to everyone are a compelling reason to tune in.
Dado-Millynn says, “Steve [Pasvolsky], the director, and I worked very collaboratively on this. We knew we wanted to have a point of difference and during development we asked, ‘how do we switch people on who aren’t listening?’ So many documentaries out there talk to all these things, but they can leave you feeling overwhelmed, like ‘what can I do?’”
Thus, one point of difference for the documentary was including actuary Kirsten Armstrong to query the measurable financial impact that new, different policies might have for governments and taxpayers.
Filmmaker Michelle Dado-Millynn. Source: Distributor
As the producer, Dado-Millynn harnesses her experience as an activist and advocate for the environment and wildlife to provide real solutions to the intimidating, encroaching climate crisis. It took her 10 years to make, working with Pasvolsky and Armstrong, in what felt like “a lifetime of work” she confesses.
The ultimate focus is on education and empowerment, proving that beyond the benefits to the land and health, changing the ways we farm, fuel and build has a tangible, definable economic benefit.
The relentlessly bleak news of wars, climate change, violence and growing economic division might foster a sense of hopelessness in some. But, faced with the dire consequences of inaction, there are some who choose to do whatever they can to influence governments and civilians into changing the trajectory of environmental change.
“There’s change afoot and women are driving that,” says Dado-Millynn. “A discussion we often had in our crew and with the women [activists] was that there’s a real need for female energy – in both men and women. It’s about compassion, connection, reigniting purpose and belonging. Systems throughout society, whether it’s government or business, have an outdated structure and it doesn’t work anymore.”
‘Women and the Power of Activism’ looks at issues facing land and sea. Source: Wild Divine Films and Hidden Valley Media
In a patriarchal system, women are the ones who are largely displaced, she says, and even though there are many men advocating and acting too, it is women who are on the frontline as activists because they are disproportionately the ones to suffer the consequences of a broken planet.
“We are at a point in time where the actions we take now determine so much of what the future will look like,” says Adelaide-based activist Doha Khan.
She is one of the six female activists Dado-Millynn’s documentary follows, alongside Jordyn de Boer, Alice Forrest, Ashley Avci, Ella Noah Bancroft and Madison Stewart. The women’s projects are focused on positive pro-active solutions that disrupt current systems of farming, fishing, water health and conservation to apply indigenous knowledge and sustainable, compassionate practices as alternatives.
Dado-Millynn says, “It was a lot about the leadership quality of these women, and they really stood out. Doha was mesmerising, Alice, Ashley and Jordyn were amazing. They all have this ‘something’ and it comes through the screen. I knew of these women, and they knew of each other, so it’s a network.”
The six women come together during filming. Source: Wild Divine Films and Hidden Valley Media
The seed for the documentary was planted over a decade ago when Dado-Millynn saw Madison Stewart’s 2014 film Shark Girl.
“Her passion and commitment, positive engagement and working with the other side to come up with a solution was a lightbulb moment for me. I reached out to her, then met with her and told her about my idea for this documentary.”
Once Stewart was recruited, it was a natural process of working through Dado-Millynn and Stewart’s shared networks of friends and activists to narrow down their cast to six women who cumulatively represented the remedies for various environmental concerns plaguing the world.
Pasvolsky had worked with an actuary on one of his prior films, which inspired Dado-Millynn. Working with Armstrong to value the projects proposed by the six activists was the point of difference from other environmental documentaries.
“An actuary is a financial mathematician, they put a dollar value on programs. Money talks to everybody, from government, business, community and households. Money is the language we all speak,” says Dado-Millynn.
Ella Noah Bancroft, one of the six women featured in the documentary. Source: Wild Divine Films and Hidden Valley Media
“Kirsten rescues wildlife and passionately cares about animals and the environment, so she wanted to apply her skills, knowledge and work to getting a dollar value on these women’s initiatives. The numbers we came to are very moderate, because how do you put a dollar value on the loss of biodiversity, ecosystem health and indigenous culture knowledge? The science of this is only just starting, and an actuary can only rely on existing data and peer-reviewed studies, so we had to do some forecasting. The figures we came to are an understatement.”
Audiences at screenings around the world are resonating with the message of the film, and not only women, according to Dado.
“We wanted an audience to walk out feeling inspired, engaged and having a sense of how they can get involved.”
By concentrating her lens on specific stories and the women willing to propose trialled and effective solutions, she counters the idea that there is nothing ordinary people can do. Dado-Millynn wants her audiences to care and to feel empowered, though she readily admits that it can be heartbreaking to love wildlife and the natural world so completely, but to face indifference.
“When you really understand how amazing the natural world is, and how similar we all actually are, it’s like Madison says in the documentary: sometimes when you know that you need to stop, you keep going, because how can you not?”
Women and the Power of Activism premiered on Wednesday 8 March at 9.30pm on SBS VICELAND. It is streaming now at SBS On Demand:
Read Doha Khan's perspective in this article from SBS Voices:
