Chapter 1 | For a Lasting Planet

Chapter 1

Should I be making an impact film?

The straightforward answer is: it depends. What does it depend on? Primarily, on the type of impact you want to achieve. To create a meaningful impact, it’s crucial first to understand the current state of the world, including the specific context and challenges you are addressing. This requires a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions and obstacles.

Next, you should envision the desired state of the world, reflecting how you want the situation—and the broader issue—to evolve and improve.

For example, consider the Maasai community in Ngorongoro. The current state might involve the Maasai killing lions in retaliation for livestock attacks. This scenario highlights a conflict-driven relationship rooted in survival and economic concerns. In contrast, your desired outcome could be a harmonious coexistence between the Maasai and lions, even when potential conflicts arise.

To transition from the current state to the desired one, you need to understand the conditions and determinants influencing current behaviours. While any existing knowledge you or your implementing partner may have is valuable, it shouldn’t be your sole foundation. This existing knowledge may not capture all the nuances of your situation. Therefore, engaging in research is essential.

Notes from the field

I always love sharing a story that perfectly illustrates this point. A while back, I was involved in a nationwide behavioural change campaign with the government of Tanzania, aiming to promote safe hygiene and sanitation practices. During the initial stages of planning, we held numerous meetings and consultations with local authorities, service providers, and health institutions.

When I suggested conducting research, I was immediately met with resistance. The stakeholders were convinced that the primary motivator for their people's behaviour was the desire to nurture their families and children. Despite their confidence, I knew that relying solely on broad statements could lead us astray.

After much discussion, I finally got the green light to go into the field and conduct research. We surveyed over 300 people in Northern Tanzania, and the results were eye-opening. Contrary to the stakeholders' beliefs, we discovered that the main motivator for adopting safe hygiene and sanitation behaviours was not family nurturing but status and the desire to be perceived as modern.x

What do you think about the story shared? Well, let me take you one step further. Research doesn't just shed light on behavioural determinants, which are essential for shaping and deciding your interventions. This is where you need to be particularly attentive to find the answer on whether you should be making an impact film, it also provides crucial information for guiding your messaging on any intervention you decide to take on and facilitate the transition from the current to the desired state of the world.

In the upcoming chapters, we'll delve deeper into behavioural determinants, exploring how they influence behaviour and how to effectively address them in your interventions allowing you to pinpoint the specific barriers that need to be addressed. Whether it's lack of knowledge, social norms, economic constraints, or other factors, identifying these determinants is key to crafting interventions that resonate with your audience and drive meaningful change and you may well decide here that an impact film is what you need.

Notes from the field

In my experience, storytelling and film are very powerful tools for conservation and behaviour change but are not standalone solutions. While they effectively captivate and inspire action, they must be complemented by strategic interventions and sustained efforts to ensure lasting impact. By integrating them into a comprehensive strategy that addresses underlying behavioural drivers, we maximize effectiveness and create meaningful change.

Building a holistic strategy

Therefore, impact storytelling and films should be perceived as essential components of a broader strategy and intervention framework that addresses all identified behavioural determinants. Your intervention in which your film is interwoven should aim to provide a suitable environment for change to occur. Without integrating impact films into a comprehensive strategy, you might achieve short-term changes in perceptions but not lasting shifts in behavior and perceptions over time.

Notes from the field

Think of impact storytelling and film not as seeds, but as branches of a tree sustained by a sturdy trunk. This trunk represents interventions such as school programs, incentives, policies, prompts or access to services.

Long-term impact

I'm often asked about how to ensure long-term impact through filmmaking, and I have two golden tips but no ultimate answer:

Make your movie more than just a one-off event. Don't simply hold a screening in a community and then vanish. Instead, integrate it into a larger intervention framework or an implementing partner and build a lasting relationship with the community with continued supporting activities that further contribute to behavioural change. This ensures that the messages resonate beyond the initial screening, fostering ongoing engagement and improving the chances for behavioural change.

Provide additional tools during the screening, such as Q&A sessions that facilitate discussions, specific next steps and support contacts. These resources empower audience members to delve deeper into the issues raised and take concrete actions, further solidifying the impact of your film. This is also a great opportunity for you to learn what the audiences are more interested in, what their questions are about and what things need to be further clarified.

A participatory approach benefits everyone

I'm heartened to witness a growing trend in our industry towards participatory processes. This approach strongly resonates with the values of For a Lasting Planet and promises impactful outcomes. To embrace participatory methods means involving those who need, want, or can make change happen at every stage of the journey, including the often-overlooked local and Indigenous communities. So, ask them!

Benefits of producing an impact film

The below are, in my opinion, some of the benefits in producing an impact film as opposed to community theatre or other community outreach efforts.

We are made of stories: From the days of gathering around the fire to today, stories have always been a part of who we are. Films, like those old tales, can stir our emotions and help us understand others. By showing the challenges and aspirations of characters, films make us feel for them and identify with them. This empathy for characters along with a message can extend to changing how we think and act.
Beliefs: Films show us different points of view and can even make us question what we already believe. Sometimes, when a movie presents ideas that clash with our own, it can make us feel conflicted. However, the later process of figuring out this conflict can make us change our beliefs influencing how we think and act.
Knowledge: Films can explain complex ideas in a way that's easy to understand and interesting. They can also show us the truth when we've been believing something wrong. By giving us real facts and showing different sides to stories, films can set the record straight. According to narrative transportation theory, when we watch a movie, we get so involved in the story that we feel like we're part of it. This makes us more open to the ideas in the movie because we're not busy disagreeing with them.
Accessible and Inclusive: In places where not many people can read well, pictures and videos can help get messages across without needing words.
Longevity: Films stick in our minds because we see and hear them. Remembering special scenes or lines from movies can make the messages stick with us. Even after watching together as a community, the movie can keep going by being shown in schools from time to time, making sure the message lasts a long time.
Visual Impact: The combination of visual and auditory elements can create a more immersive and memorable experience.
Multi-use: The investment in a film as a product for behavioural change can further be used for other organisational goals such as visibility or access to donors.