Future Council

Rated PG

Small amount of coarse language

Do you remember, as a child, not getting a straight answer to a direct question? Very little is more annoying to a kid, unless it’s the answer, “That’s for me to know and you to find out”.

It’s kind of similar to the disciples shooing children away from Jesus in the gospels, because surely the saviour of the world wouldn’t have time for them. And yet, of course, he does – and shows the tremendous value children have in the kingdom of God.

I mention this because it’s very hard for children to get adults’ attention. Not in a throw-a-tantrum sense or in caring for physical needs, but in such a way that adults are truly willing to listen and respect what they say.

This is what’s at the heart of Future Council by Australian filmmaker and actor Damon Gameau, who has brought us previous eye-opening documentaries such as That Sugar Film. 

On this occasion, he has invited eight kids from around the world to come with him on a bio-fuelled bus trip through parts of Europe, in an attempt to get adults to listen to the young people’s concerns about the environment. Not just the environment as it is now, but what will be left for them once those currently in power exit the stage.

Gameau’s set-up is done to attract interest and get our – and others’ – attention. And he’s a long-time champion of the need for global action in the face of environmental pollution and climate change, so you go into this film knowing this is what you will see and hear. 

However, what gives Future Council its legs is the children themselves. They are smart, articulate, more than willing to call out anyone who tries to “adult wash” them, and very happy to walk the talk in a way that would put most adults to shame. 

Joseph, from Bali, has a recycling business with 100 clients, makes keyrings from recycled plastic in a sandwich press, and (so far) has paid for the education of 24 children. And he’s 11. 

Twelve-year-old Skye lives close to the Welsh coastal village of Fairbourne, which will be inundated and unliveable in about 25 years from now. She has no problem speaking the grim truth to power and unsurprisingly has no time for those who aren’t willing to accept that the problem is urgent. 

The other children all have a particular skill and environmental focus, and Gameau observes that each also carries a “persistent fear... about the state of the planet”.

Ruby, 13, from NSW’s Southern Highlands, is particularly good at expressing her concerns through poems and songs. She is also the most emotional of the children, saying early on, with tears, “I feel like there’s so much pressure to be doing more, but I don’t know what to do!”

Gameau and the children visit companies, farms and businesspeople who are working on everything from the science of land biodiversity to including nature on a company board, to helping young people get into conversations with those in power. This is informative, but there’s an obvious element of preaching to the converted.

Where the film really hits the mark is in the discussions children have with senior managers or CEOs of companies such as Nestlé (the globe’s third-largest plastic polluter) and ING Bank. The kids are seriously well informed and have excellent questions and suggestions. But they also pull no punches – especially Skye.

She boldly tells Nestlé’s global head of public affairs that the company shouldn’t be proud of selling Smarties in a sustainable paper tube while it “churn[s] out over 5 billion plastic-wrapped KitKats every single year... You’re not just a powerful leader. You’re a disgrace.” Ouch.

The children are brave and passionate, and the future council of the title is the group they create – and run – to have ongoing discussions with business leaders about how practices and plans can change. 

As the next generation of engaged leaders, they are deeply impressive. But the one thing that isn’t included in everyone’s concern for the future is eternity. They care about our planet, as we all should given God’s command for us to look after his creation. Yet no one seems concerned about what will happen once their lives are over.

Future Council is a cry from the heart of our young people to take the world’s physical future seriously.

We who believe in Jesus should do that, while not neglecting to share with them, and others, what our ultimate future holds.