Beyond the Tipping Point? is a film about climate change and the ways we respond to it. Through the voices of 25 people from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, it addresses a fundamental challenge for our time: how the future is imagined, and how this imagination shapes our actions in the present.

Who funded it? The film is funded by the Lincoln Theological Institute (LTI), based at The University of Manchester, who undertake research that connects the study of religion, ethics and civil society. The LTI are part of a broader research group based in Manchester called the Religion and Civil Society Network.

Why make another film about climate change? This is not another film about the science or the ‘facts’ of global warming. It is an exploration of a deeper set of questions.  How do we make sense of the idea that we may have a limited time frame for effective action? Is there ever a point after which all action comes too late? Does apocalyptic imagination lead to hope, or despair?

Who is the film for? This is a free, educational resource for any groups exploring these questions. It is designed as a stimulus to open up the conversation to all, and provoke questions we perhaps are not used to asking. It has chapter titles that can be used as discussion questions, or to recap on the main themes:

1. Do tipping points shape the way we think about the future?

2. Do tipping points generate action, or apathy?

3. So what’s stopping us?

4. Are we trying to prevent climate change, or adapt to it?

5. Imagining the end?

6. Are the challenges too great?

Who features in the film?
Interviewees include:

Professor Kevin Anderson, Tyndall Centre, The University of Manchester
Dr. Richard Betts, Met Office, Hadley Centre
Ahmed Swapan, Voice, Bangladesh
Paul Morozzo, Climate Camp
Leo Murray, Plane Stupid
George Marshall, Climate Outreach Information Network
Andy Bowman, PhD candidate, The University of Manchester
‘Polyp’, political cartoonist
Richard Hawkins, Public Interest Research Centre
Joe Ryle, Climate Campaigner
Matt Fawcett, The Kindling Trust
Klaus Herbert, Climate Camp
Police Press Liaison Officer, Copenhagen
Dr. Oliver Smith, The University of St Andrews
Farjana Akter, Voice, Bangladesh
Professor Barbara Adam, Cardiff University
Aubrey Meyer, Global Commons Institute
Kim Bryan, Centre for Alternative Technology
Professor Nik Heynen, University of Georgia
Guhyapati, Ecodharma Centre
Simon Dale, Lammas
Dr. Mark Levene, Southampton University
Chaitanya Kalevar, Just One World
Jonathan Atkinson, Urban Research Collective
Maria Colares, The Amazon, Brazil