"Youth v Gov is both a documentary and a kind of superhero movie.”
- The Kids Are Not Alright, by Madeline Lines
"[The] power comes from the skill of the filmmakers, who weave together 60 years of archival material, stirring footage of natural disasters, and dramatic courtroom video to bring dense legal arguments to life. But the vast majority of the documentary’s emotional muscle comes from those meddling kids.”
- The Grist
A story of global importance that has already inspired numerous legal actions around the world, YOUTH v GOV is the story of America’s youngest citizens taking on the world’s most powerful government. Twenty-one courageous youths lead a groundbreaking lawsuit against the U.S. government, asserting it has willfully acted over six decades to create our climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. If these young people are successful, they’ll not only make history, they’ll change the future.
From PSU Sustainability Institute:
If you'd like to get involved and explore further, these are some resources that might be of interest:
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/
https://the50percent.org
https://centresustains.com/
Pennsylvania Constitution. Article I, Section 27 says:
"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."
Director Bio:
Christi Cooper is a PhD scientist, documentary filmmaker, and Emmy-award winning cinematographer. Christi focuses her storytelling and visual narratives on issues of justice and impact by creating human connections to the most pressing issues of our time. She left a successful academic and research career in Europe to obtain an MFA in Science & Natural History Filmmaking. In 2011, Christi co-created Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery, a 10-part documentary series featuring youth plaintiffs suing their state governments over climate change, with WITNESS, a social justice/human rights organization focused on using film for social change. The campaign was used to reach decision-makers and judges who were ruling on climate litigation brought to the courts by young people. She recently premiered her first feature documentary, YOUTH v GOV, at DocNYC. Her film awards include ReelWomen Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman from Cleveland International Film Festival; Best of Fest, Audience Award, and Best Feature Documentary from Woods Hole Film Festival; among others. Christi is the inaugural SFFilm/Vulcan Productions Environmental Film Fellow and the first Jacob Burns Film Center Focus on Nature Artist-in-Resident.
In addition to communicating sometimes very complex issues through storytelling and visual narrative, her primary goals are to combine her research skills and in-depth knowledge of science with her desire to create compelling narratives focused on raising awareness about sociopolitical issues and justice. In her "free" time, she enjoys being a mother and a partner, growing her own food, and relishing in the incredible beauty and lifestyle of Montana.
- Year2020
- Runtime111 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorChristi Cooper
"Youth v Gov is both a documentary and a kind of superhero movie.”
- The Kids Are Not Alright, by Madeline Lines
"[The] power comes from the skill of the filmmakers, who weave together 60 years of archival material, stirring footage of natural disasters, and dramatic courtroom video to bring dense legal arguments to life. But the vast majority of the documentary’s emotional muscle comes from those meddling kids.”
- The Grist
A story of global importance that has already inspired numerous legal actions around the world, YOUTH v GOV is the story of America’s youngest citizens taking on the world’s most powerful government. Twenty-one courageous youths lead a groundbreaking lawsuit against the U.S. government, asserting it has willfully acted over six decades to create our climate crisis, thus endangering their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. If these young people are successful, they’ll not only make history, they’ll change the future.
From PSU Sustainability Institute:
If you'd like to get involved and explore further, these are some resources that might be of interest:
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/
https://the50percent.org
https://centresustains.com/
Pennsylvania Constitution. Article I, Section 27 says:
"The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."
Director Bio:
Christi Cooper is a PhD scientist, documentary filmmaker, and Emmy-award winning cinematographer. Christi focuses her storytelling and visual narratives on issues of justice and impact by creating human connections to the most pressing issues of our time. She left a successful academic and research career in Europe to obtain an MFA in Science & Natural History Filmmaking. In 2011, Christi co-created Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery, a 10-part documentary series featuring youth plaintiffs suing their state governments over climate change, with WITNESS, a social justice/human rights organization focused on using film for social change. The campaign was used to reach decision-makers and judges who were ruling on climate litigation brought to the courts by young people. She recently premiered her first feature documentary, YOUTH v GOV, at DocNYC. Her film awards include ReelWomen Direct Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman from Cleveland International Film Festival; Best of Fest, Audience Award, and Best Feature Documentary from Woods Hole Film Festival; among others. Christi is the inaugural SFFilm/Vulcan Productions Environmental Film Fellow and the first Jacob Burns Film Center Focus on Nature Artist-in-Resident.
In addition to communicating sometimes very complex issues through storytelling and visual narrative, her primary goals are to combine her research skills and in-depth knowledge of science with her desire to create compelling narratives focused on raising awareness about sociopolitical issues and justice. In her "free" time, she enjoys being a mother and a partner, growing her own food, and relishing in the incredible beauty and lifestyle of Montana.
- Year2020
- Runtime111 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorChristi Cooper