Climate Spring and Yellow Dot Studios launch new screen talent initiative #FlipTheScript with new comedy short More Flames starring Phoebe Dynevor and Bella Ramsey

A new collective of screen industry and climate organisations, including Climate Spring and Academy Award-winning Adam McKay’s Yellow Dot Studios have come together to form a new screen industry campaign to flip the script on the narrative around the climate crisis, from doom to possibility, by today launching a new short film “MORE FLAMES”. 

Starring Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) and Amar Chadha-Patel (Slip, Willow), More Flames is written and directed by Jack Cooper Stimpson (Extinction), and produced by Jamie Gamache (Lowkey Films) and Michelle Schechter (Vantage Point) and is a comedy-satire on the struggles of talking about the end of the world. 

When the lead actor (Phoebe) of a fictional film-project challenges the narrative they are committing to screen, a difficult conversation with their director (Amar) ensues. More Flames aims to inspire the industry to challenge the narratives that dominate content and remind us of the power of onscreen storytelling. 

More Flames aims to inspire a conversation around the stories we tell in our film and television culture in a time of climate and nature crisis. The hope is that the film will resonate with a broad range of viewers and act as a mechanism for inspiring talent engagement in a new wave of storytelling and a sense of possibility in addressing the climate crisis. Already the initiative is building a growing support network, including supporters: Green Rider Team, Simon Amstell, Will Attenborough, Tom Burke, Charity Wakefield, Freddie Fox, Bethany Antonia, Mawaan Rizwan, Danusia Samal, Fehinti Balogun, Paapa Essiedu, Sarah Kameela Impey, Amar Chadha-Patel and Ali Dowling with more to be confirmed. 

The #FlipTheScript campaign spotlights the screen industry's power to rewrite the dominant 'doomsday' narrative in our culture. We know from research that the fear-based communications that are typically the way the issue is communicated are putting us all into a state of paralysis, further perpetuating the sense of inevitable doom. In order for audiences to feel empowered to act on the climate crisis, they need to be shown the real root cases of the crisis (not about making everyone feel guilty but understanding the powers that are holding us back), and most crucially the route out of the chaos. The new initiative aims to empower the leading screen talent to use their voices and platforms to tell the greatest story of our time - the story of transition away from climate chaos to regeneration. 

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Writer/director Jack Cooper Stimpson said: "Communicating the climate-crisis is an ongoing challenge that the TV and film industries must face. As storytellers we have a duty to acknowledge these challenging topics and to engage audiences in a meaningful and unpatronising capacity. 

That being said, it can be incredibly difficult to get that messaging right and more often than not, our workspaces are not conducive to open discussion and collaboration. It's clear that the film and TV 

industries have preoccupied themselves with providing audiences with escapism and have found it difficult to represent climate themes on-screen. 

I hope that 'More Flames' speaks to that struggle and reminds us of the power of imaginative thinking and collaboration. We must ask difficult questions of ourselves and continue to talk about the climate and ecological crisis with empathy, humour and truthfulness. It has been a pleasure to work with Yellow Dow and Climate Spring on this project and I'm thrilled to have the support of such an exciting cast and crew." 

Lucy Stone, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Spring said: “We are thrilled to be working with the incredible screen talent behind More Flames and to spearhead the associated #FlipTheScript campaign, spotlighting the screen industry's power to rewrite the dominant 'doomsday' climate narrative. The stories we tell matter. They shape how we see ourselves, what we collectively value, they allow us to walk in someone else's shoes. This couldn't be more important for the climate crisis, which requires us to imagine different ways of living. With this initiative we wish to spark a conversation about the role of film and TV storytelling in a time of climate change, and how we can successfully tell climate stories that shine a light on the pathways out of the crisis, and towards new visions of society." 

Staci Roberts-Steele, Managing Director and Producer at Yellow Dot Studios said: “We are extremely excited to partner with Climate Spring and filmmaker Jack Cooper Stimpson on a project addressing the current critical moment in the climate crisis. Yellow Dot is always ready to support the idea of going against the status quo and shaking up narratives in the climate movement. Storytelling is one of the main areas where we can view concepts from fresh angles and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with this incredible team.” 

Learn more + watch the film: www.climate-spring.org/moreflames 

#FlipTheScript 

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For further information, interviews and screeners please contact: 

ARPR: Alex Rowley – alex.rowley@ar-pr.co.uk 

STILLS/ASSETS: https://tinyurl.com/2jd7xy65 

IMAGE CREDITS:  Martha Treves 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: 

About Climate Spring 

Climate Spring is a global development fund and a screen industry insider organisation that works with production companies, talent and networks to identify and nurture stories that can change how society responds to the climate and nature crisis in all genres. Its aim is to harness the storytelling power of film and TV to shift how society perceives and responds to the climate crisis. Climate Spring is currently funding, co-financing and supporting a range of leading production companies, screen writers and talent, on a range of genres from crime to thriller to romantic comedy. 

Working closely with screen industry partners, gatekeepers, commissioners, creatives and producers, Climate Spring identifies climate stories with potential to be developed into mainstream film and TV content. 

Led by a collective of screen industry and climate experts, Climate Spring offers early-stage development funding for scripted and unscripted content; editorial consulting on the climate elements of feature film and TV projects for writers, commissioners and producers; training and writers development opportunities as part of Climate Spring’s The Hot House and World Building programmes; and support in moving a project from idea to distribution. 

By informing, inspiring and incentivising creatives, Climate Spring supports the creation of new screen narratives and stories about how we can navigate the climate crisis together, empowering us all to imagine a different future. 

About Yellow Dot Studios 

Yellow Dot Studios is a non-profit production studio to raise awareness and mobilise action on the climate emergency, founded by Adam McKay, the Academy Award-winning writer, director, and producer known for Netflix’s second most watched film of all time Don’t Look Up, as well as Vice, The Big Short, Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights, and television shows Succession and Winning Time. 

Yellow Dot creates entertaining, memorable, and scientifically accurate videos and (other stuff) to challenge decades of disinformation pushed by oil companies and amplified by large swaths of elected leaders and the media. By shining a light on the urgency, responsible parties, and scientifically proven solutions, we aim to empower more people to be part of the conversation about what we’re facing and what we can do about it. 

Yellow Dot is funded by philanthropists, commissioned work, and regular people. So yes, we are just another captured tool of the radical Big Survival lobby. We aim to support the creatives, organizations, scientists, and individuals who are similarly allied with the cause of continued human existence on Earth. If that’s you and you want to work together, please get in touch. 

BIOGRAPHY: 

Jack Cooper Stimpson (writer/director) 

Jack is a writer, director and environmental campaigner from South London. 

Jack trained with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and has since written and directed numerous features, short films and pieces for TV. Jack wrote, directed and produced ‘Alex’s Dream’ in 2018, starring Alex Lawther (End of the F***ing World) and in 2019 he wrote and directed the political satire ‘Extinction’, starring Academy Award winner Emma Thompson. Jack developed ‘Extinction’ into a six-part series for BBC Studios and directed his first feature-length project, ‘Way Down Bundy’, in Los Angeles. He is currently developing environmental stories for Objective Fiction, Climate Spring and On The Edge and is currently a member of BAFTA. He has directed Academy Award Winner Mark Rylance in an ecological short, ‘Spirit of Place’, which begins its festival run this Spring. Alongside ongoing TV work, Jack is developing several feature-length scripts with various producers and companies. He is represented by Curtis Brown and Tavistock Wood." 

Social media: 

Instagram & X: @climate__spring; @weareyellowdot; @_vantagept; @lowkeyfilms 

LinkedIn: Climate Spring; Yellow Dot Studios; Vantage Point, Lowkey Films 

CREDITS 

Campaign Credits: 

The #FlipTheScript campaign is produced by Climate Spring in partnership with Yellow Dot Studios, Vantage Point and GOOD Agency. 

More Flames Film Credits: 

Written + Directed by Jack Cooper Stimpson 

Produced by Jamie Gamache (Lowkey Films) and Michelle Schechter (Vantage Point) - 'Produced by Jamie Gamache (Lowkey Films) and Michelle Schechter (Vantage Point).') 

Executive Produced by Adam McKay, Staci Roberts-Steele, Anna Wenger, Lucy Stone, Josh Cockroft, Connor O'Hara 

Executive Produced by: Climate Spring and Yellow Dot Studios 

Starring Phoebe Dynevor, Bella Ramsey, Amar Chadha-Patel 

Casting by Lauren Evans Casting 

Edited by Patrick Walsh 

Production Design by Annie Tinsley 

Director of Photography Jack Edwards 

Sound mix and design by Alex Paul 

Colour by Toby Tomkins 

Sustainability Action by Everybodies 

Poster Key Art by Richie Nolan 

BTS Stills by Martha Treves 

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