Luc Jacquet, the Oscar®-winning director of March of the Penguins, goes back to Antarctica for his latest documentary, Ice and the Sky. But instead of focusing on cute creatures in the snow, the film looks at the life and many accomplishments of one man: French explorer and glaciologist Claude Lorius. He was the first scientist - using dating of ice cores extracted in Antarctica - to prove that climate change can be attributed to humans. Lorius, now in his 80s (but who’ll be “forever 23”- the age when he first encountered the pole) has dedicated his life to the ice, and whose resulting analysis proved key in linking climate change and greenhouse gases.

Jacquet’s film directly challenges climate change deniers: by simply talking us through Lorius’s career, and the progress of his work, we understand the methodical processes by which he came to his conclusions. Gorgeously choreographed shots, many filmed with drones, show Lorius surveying the melting glaciers or burning forests that are the result of climate change. Wordlessly, they convey the idea that the beauty-filled natural world seems to be slipping away from all of us.

Ice and the Sky ends with an urgent call-to-arms, a plea to audiences and politicians alike, and with a direct challenge to the viewer: “Now that you know, what are you going to do?” This is a powerful testament, and one that ought to have a considerable impact on us all.

We’re getting a new kitchen in December

Throughout December the builders will be in to fit our new kitchen. We will still have a Soups and Sharing Platters menu and the bar will be open as usual but as the kitchen will be closed Cinebites is going to take a month’s break. Find out more here, including details of the schedule of work. Thank you for your patience in advance.

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