Global Systems Institute (University of Exeter) present an evening of films and soundscapes. Delivered as part of the Exeter Climate Forum.

Screening of GSI documentary on Heatwaves in Chile; followed by screening of film and soundscape work related to novelist, sound artist and academic Dr Ellen Wiles’ Riverlandia project, and screening of a short film Rock Pool (Dan McKay, 2024) that explores ‘slow’ eco-cinema as a means of promoting good mental health in the face of climate anxiety.

The event will be followed by a panel discussion with some of filmmakers and academics involved in the respective projects.

ROCK POOL
Dir. Dan McKay, 17 mins

In ROCK POOL, we invite the viewer into a space of quiet encounters, one that asks for attention, rewards stillness, and hopefully awakens a sense of awe for the hidden rhythms of the life all around us.

From murky kelp forests to scallop burial grounds and a UV lit cosmic expanse, ROCK POOL’s non-narrative flow draws its audience through the circadian cycles that turn the worlds beneath our feet. As commonplace as they are alien, these cauldrons of primordial wonder are animated by an innovative experimental soundscape and seamless, layered montage. In the short span of 17 minutes, ROCK POOL renders the miniscule titanic and works upon the senses to coax the attention of its viewer into a quiet sense of awe.

HEATWAVES IN CHILE
Dir. Manju Bura, 45mins
From the sweltering plains of the Tarai to the crisp air of Nepal’s Himalayas, this ethnographic film follows extreme heat – not the episodic kind that breaks temperature records, but a slow, structuring force that settles into routines and shapes everyday life. We trace it as a relational and material presence, moving through conversations and courtyards, lingering between thermometers and tree shade, stretching across labour and land, shame and architecture, and pulsing through institutional systems and everyday improvisations. We sit with scientists and officials who monitor rising temperatures and issue alerts, and with those whose knowledge emerges from lived experience. Some move between these worlds – translating, mediating, and improvising as they go. We come to understand heat by attuning to the dialogues, materials, and relationships through which it is governed in practice. The film offers glimpses of stories that invite us to reimagine what extreme heat means in everyday life.

RIVERLANDIA
Dir. Ellen Wiles, 60 mins
An immersive fictional sound story

The story of a river valley’s transformation, through the creation of a new wetland, is reimagined through the perspectives of ten fictional characters, most of whom are non-human. Voices include a dragonfly and a beaver, an alder tree and a bullhead fish, a ranger and the river itself, all running in counterpoint with a rich natural soundscape. Alongside the river’s journey, the narrative follows a troubled teenage girl as she finds meaning through her deepening connection with this landscape and the natural world.

A starry cast of voice actors includes Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones), Mike Wozniak, Will Adamsdale, Bethany Antonia, and Tom Parry. Sound design is by Nicholas Allan.

Originally an audio work, Riverlandia was commissioned by The National Trust in 2023 as a creative response to their landmark river restoration project in Porlock Vale, Exmoor. Developed through an extensive research process, in collaboration with conservationists, land managers and scientists, it explores the value of wetland habitats, including for biodiversity, water purity, and climate resilience through the mitigation of flood risk. By foregrounding non-human perspectives through fiction and immersive audio, the work seeks to immerse audiences imaginatively in the wonders of this nature-rich landscape, while also highlighting the fragility of our water system and the natural environment that depends on it, and revealing ways in which nature restoration projects can effect meaningful change and inspire hope.

The accompanying animated film was created as part of the Creative Climate Awards programme, and was first shown in Brooklyn Public Library in 2025. This is its UK premiere.

Exeter Climate Conference