Coalition of the Willing releases climate change film with a little help from Mighty Nice

British filmmaker Simon Robson has assembled 24 filmmakers from around the world – including local animation studio Mighty Nice – to make a collaborative film that advocates for collective online action as a way to combat climate change. ‘Coalition of the Willing’ is an internationally collaborative animated film about an online war against global warming in a ‘post-Copenhagen’ world.

The film was written by Sydney-based Tim Rayner, and co-written and directed by Robson, then crafted by professional filmmakers using an array of eclectic techniques.

VIEW THE FILM HERE

“The script grabbed us immediately. Simon and Tim had produced something really exciting – a film designed to inspire people to collectively solve the effects of climate change,” says Mighty Nice co-founder Darren Price. “The animators were the first of hopefully many to get involved, and their skills shine through in a very unique film.”

It has had a staggered release online starting in February 2010. The final launch is

today (June 30) at Richmix, London UK. Mighty Nice is hosting a local launch on July 5 in Sydney and The Guardian newspaper will be featuring the film upon its final release.

The project began after Robson met Rayner, local writer and philosopher, while on a visit to Sydney. Together they planned a proactive and hopeful solution to climate change: a global online change network based on collective action and open-source culture, which could empower people to take the reins in fighting global warming.

Last April at F5, a creativity festival in New York City, the duo put out a call for collaborators. Robson wound up with more than 20 different groups in the project. The various styles include stop-motion animation using potatoes, melons and cauliflowers; 3D animation; stop-motion and impressionistic watercolours.

“This film offers a response to the major problem of our time: how to galvanize and enlist the global publics in the war against global warming,” says Rayner. “This optimistic and principled film explores how we could use new internet technologies to leverage the powers of activists, experts, and ordinary citizens in collaborative ventures to fight climate change.”

Viewers will be able to see the finished film in festivals, including this June’s OFFF in Paris, and it’s also slated to become a part of the global environmental network 350.org’s activist toolkit.

However, Coalition of the Willing’s primary platform, will be its own website.