Get Up, Stand Up! A film block & discussion dedicated to environmental rights and resistance

Get Up, Stand Up! A film block & discussion dedicated to environmental rights and resistance

A clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a universal human right—yet that right remains out of reach for many. This film explores two connected struggles: the fight for environmental justice and human rights, and the battle for access to beaches and the sea, where colonial-era laws still shape who can access them for leisure, livelihoods, and cultural life. Meet the people on the frontlines of resistance.

Films

Beach inna Bondage

Beach Inna Bondage shows that beach access, which is not only an issue in Jamaica but across the Caribbean and beyond, is an urgent matter of historical, economic, social, cultural and environmental justice, raising the question of who the tropical paradise of sun, sand, and sea truly serves, and at what cost…

Documentary | 30 min | Directed by Emiel Maartens, Elsie Vermeer (Jamaica, Netherlands)

Fighting Not Drowning

Small island states are drowning. An Indigenous led legal team from the Pacific brings the world's biggest problem to the world's highest court, decisively tipping the scales towards climate justice.

Documentary | 20min | Directed by Carey McKenzie (Portugal)

Voices of Resistance: Caribbean Environmental Defenders and their fight for Ezcazú

Across the Caribbean, environmental defenders are standing up to protect their communities, territories and natural resources. Voices of Resistance amplifies their stories, revealing the challenges they face and the importance of the work they do. At the heart of the film is the Escazú Agreement, the only legally binding regional treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean that explicitly recognises the need to protect environmental defenders. Through their voices and experiences, the film asks what it takes to defend the environment — and who protects those who protect it.

Documentary | 13 min | Directed by Paula Joseph (Guyana) | Executive Produced by Christine Samwaroo, The Breadfruit Collective and Dahvia Hylton, The Stronger Caribbean Together Network