Who will save the planet?   Will it be from governments making international agreements or is it up to grass roots movements to take action?

The documentary film “Keepers of the Future” suggests that hope lies with the small groups taking action.

The Frozen River film guide described the film as follows:

“In a fertile floodplain, where the great river meets the sea, a peasant movement puts down roots – growing resilience in the scorched earth of exile and war. But soon these farmers and fishing folk discover new challenges, and this time they are global: climate crisis, exacerbated by an economy of ruinous extraction. The solutions they come up with will be a revelation for audiences in the prosperous north. On the surface, the life of these campesinos may resemble the past, but in their model may lie the key to the future.”

Karolo Aparicio works for EcoViva.  EcoViva’s mission is to  “support community-led social justice movements in Central America implementing innovative solutions to poverty, environmental degradation, and climate change”.

Here is Karolo’s EcoViva profile:

“Karolo has over 15 years working for social and environmental causes, principally in fund development. Before joining EcoViva he led the Donor Services team at the Global Fund for Women and also led fundraising efforts for the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter, International Rivers, Save The Bay and Global Exchange.

Karolo has an MBA from San Francisco State University, where he also earned his BA. Karolo also holds an MA in Anthropology from Vanderbilt University where he did field work in Guatemala and Mexico. ”

In a interview with Fatima Mota and Alisia Hull of Cotter Teen Press, Aparcicio  spoke about the film and explained the impacts that he wants “Keepers of the Future” to have on society.

“I participated as an executive producer for the movie of Keepers of the Future  by the director Avi Lewis. Avi Lewis visited El Salvador on two different occasions to film different stories about people who are getting organized with respect to climate change.  He went to interview many people.  Previously, the idea was, that all of the information gathered was going to be part of a bigger project, of a movie that is called This Changes Everything , which is basically based on the book of Naomi Klein, with the same title. The idea was that what Avi Lewis filmed in El Salvador was going to be part of a documentary planed to last around two hours long.  The idea did not end up that way. The things that were filmed in El Salvador did not fit in that movie. After that, we asked ourselves why don’t we make a short documentary about the experience in El Salvador ,and tell that story?  And now, here we are, it is a short film that is about 24, or 23 minutes long, about the people in El Salvador who are organizing democratically to adapt to the situation of the climate change,”  Aparicio said.

“With all humility, I want to say that this is part of a dialogue, of a broader dialogue on the topicI just mentioned. The fact is that we have to make changes in our political systems, in our economic system, and in our relationship with the environment. This movie is not going to change the world itself, but it is part of that conversation. This is a very important contribution that Avi Lewis, the director, has given to us when creating this movie.”

http://ecoviva.org/about-us/our-team/

https://ecoviva.org/documentary-on-ecovivas-partners-reaching-new-audiences/

https://www.mountainfilm.org/media/keepers-of-the-future