Green films on tour

Nine film screenings and nine dialogue circles took place in nine cities all over Egypt this spring.

By Rowan El Shimi

A group of 25 young people are sitting in a circle at Cloud Co-working space in Minya. They have just finished watching the documentary film ‘The Recycling Myth’ uncovering the truth behind our misconceptions around recycling.

“I was under the impression that I can use single-use plastic freely as long as I could figure out a way to dispose of it safely or recycle it. But after watching the film, I realized that due to the sheer amount of plastic consumed all over the world there is no safe way to dispose of all of it, and recycling all of this waste is simply not happening,” says Esmat Ibrahim, a doctor who also runs a small sustainable fashion business during the event.

“The film helped me realize that we should aim to reduce our consumption of single use plastic altogether,” she added.

The film screening and discussion were part of the EcoKino: Green Docs Tour, a series of events which took place in February and March 2023 in nine Egyptian cities where DEDI screened films from the EcoKino environmental documentaries library followed by a facilitated dialogue circle. The tour was made possible in collaboration with several local organisations, each bringing their own expertise into the project. Banlastic Egypt partnered with DEDI to select the films and oversee their dubbing and subtitling into Arabic and were present to take part in the discussions. Greenish utilized their Greenish Clubs present in more than 30 universities all over Egypt to engage the youth to organize the events. The final partner Ambassadors for Dialogue contributed their expertise in hosting dialogue circles to facilitate the discussions after the films.

‘The Recycling Myth’ produced by the WHY Foundation in Denmark is one of the films available on the EcoKino Library for local organisations, libraries, universities or schools to borrow to host their own screening. The film uncovers how large plastic producing corporations brand their products as ‘recyclable’ to help consumers buy their products guilt-free – while it is in fact a hoax. From black-market brokers who find corrupt counties to dump plastic in, to how the corporations actually dump the recycling problem on third parties so they are not held accountable, the film uncovers the secrets behind the recycling myth.

From city to city: Films and dialogues

The tour was divided into three weekends each covering a region: The Canal cities, the Delta Cities and Upper-Egyptian cities.

During the first screening in Suez, after the participants watched ‘Coca-Cola’s Plastic Promises’ which uncovered how the Coca-Cola company’s ‘World Without Waste’ strategy,’ which aims to have 50% of its products made from recycled materials by 2030, is ultimately just another example of green washing.

After the film, the dialogue circle took place, where the participants first broke the ice with a small exercise and got to know each other to help facilitate a meaningful discussion afterwards.

“The dialogue circle helps to stem the ideas presented in the film. When you have twenty or thirty people who have just watched a film, each of them coming from a different culture, different upbringings, with their own ideas and impressions, the dialogue circle gives us the space to bring all these ideas, impressions and experiences together allowing new ideas and conclusions to be reached,” says Basma Fathi, a facilitator with Ambassadors for Dialogue who facilitated most of the discussions following the films during the tour. “We set up the participants in a circle where everyone is equal and there is no expert because people learn better when they participate in their learning, when they feel heard, and when they have a chance to share their point of view – even if it’s challenged afterwards. Sometimes we learn and change out points of view after we get a chance to share them out loud. That’s all it takes.”

In Ismailia, which saw the largest turn out from all the events, Hazem Bayoumi, who works for the Ministry of Youth, expressed his gratitude to being part of this dialogue circle. “Ideas transform into feelings which transform to behavior changes, this is what we’re all after,” he says. “Through discussions, like this one happening here today, we can learn a lot and also pass along what we’ve learned to others.”

A picture is worth a thousand words

“Documentary films are a shortcut. They give us a message that’s clear and concise. They show us realities from places we might not have access to. A picture is worth a thousand words, I really believe in that saying,” says Zahraa Motawei, a University Professor who took part in the event at Mansoura.

By making the films available through the screenings organized by DEDI along with facilitating the process for other organizations to borrow and screen the films and host their own discussions afterwards with the guide available on the platform, more and more people can gain awareness on the issues.

“Films about environmental issues play a very important role in raising awareness, especially among people who don’t have a lot of information about environmental issues and our role as humans in the catastrophe. When we tell people about issues, it’s hard to convey the message. But the film, using artistic audio and visual language, touches people and helps inspire them to take action or change their behaviors,” Mariam Amr, student at Suez Canal University in Ismailia and co-founder of Greenish Club SCU, says

Reaching out

Youssef Shawky, a Pharmaceutical worker and one of the attendees of the screening of “Cocacola’s Plastic Promises” in Assuit says, “The most important aspect after watching the film and becoming more aware of the issues it raises is to consider what action or change will come next. The dialogue circle really helps us achieve that and rethink concepts we may have taken for granted. Participating in this dialogue can challenge your ideas and preconceived notions, and from that your behavior as well. In Upper Egypt we generally don’t have a lot of civil society and public engagement activities, so we need more events like this to shake things up.”

For Zahraa Motawei, the event played an important role in raising awareness in Mansoura. “Even though the Delta is a region with many environmental issues and Mansoura has a high volume of young people, the region is quite marginalized when it comes to environmental awareness as most activities tend to take place in Cairo or Alexandria,” she explains. “We need events like this to help raise awareness and spread understanding about these issues.”

Want to host your own screening and discussion? Learn more here.

This project was managed by Project Officer Yousra Fouda.

Read more from DEDI

Plastic on film

Boosting circular collaboration

Wearing green