Last week we asked Climate Rush to interview David Williams, the director of the first climate change comedy 'Beyond The Pole'. In the race to save the world this was boys versus girls and we expected a fight! Unfortunately love broke out...read on...

By Deborah Grayson

Last week a friend of mine tweeted a link to a British comedy called 'Beyond the Pole', which was about to premiere at the ICA. I have to say, I was surprised I hadn't come across it before – I may not have my finger on many pulsating cultural pies but environmental-arts crossover projects could be my Mastermind specialist subject, and when I saw that Stephen Mangan (of Oedipal fame in 'Green Wing') was starring, and that the trailer made it look really, really awesome and funny I felt a bit miffed, like a good friend had failed to invite me to their birthday party. Anyway, I got over myself enough to buy a ticket, and despite my unfeasibly high expectations it did not disappoint. 'Beyond the Pole' is a brilliantly observed, character-led comedy, that stealthily delivers an impassioned plea for the future of the planet amongst jokes about bickering gay Norwegians and phone sex via CB radio.



The mockumentary follows deeply committed environmentalist Mark (Mangan) and happy-go-lucky best friend Brian (Rhys Thomas) as they plan the world's first unsupported, carbon neutral, organic and vegetarian trip to the North pole to raise awareness about global warming. Speaking as an activist who's had more than her fair share of documentary crews pointing cameras at her in the past year, the early scenes are frighteningly close to the bone. Mark's earnestness as he stares into the lens and intones, yet again, about the dreadfulness of climate change is a perfect caricature of everything you hope not to be – especially when it's obvious that he is motivated as much by a broken heart and sibling rivalry as by his impending sense of climactic doom. But as the film continues and the two friends face frostbite, penile chafing (on the part of poor circumcised Brian) and polar bear gorings, the seriousness of their mission becomes deeply affecting. Somehow, the writers have hit on a tone I haven't seen anyone master before: simultaneously sending up the ridiculous world-saving urge of the environmental movement, and crediting it with the power to achieve something.

It's a balance that co-writer (and director/producer) David Williams was well aware of – he spent years co-adapting the screenplay from the original radioplay by Neil Warhurst and the care they've taken over it is obvious. When I speak to David he's in his 'Soho pad' ... a.k.a. at home in an office so small he can touch all the walls at once, where the rubbish is now neck high and he has to keep sending his son away without being allowed to play Mathletics in case he steps on a stray DVD. It's a pleasingly low key setting for someone with over a hundred films under his belt, a well known actress for a partner (Helen Baxendale, who executive produced and appears briefly in the film as the intrusive documentary maker) and the clout to completely source funding in a couple of weeks – 'it's a great way to get people to commit if you can say 'we've got to get started right now or our set will have melted!''. There's an unpretentious honesty to his whole approach (such as this entertainingly amateur video of an embarrassed Helen trying to dissuade him from talking to the audience after the London premiere ...) that is endearing precisely because the end product is so professional.





His involvement in activism has previously been limited to few inexpertly recalled marches – 'that one up in Edinburgh, and one last year – erm – there were lots of people there' – but Helen was out in Copenhagen for COP 15, and their respect for the green movement is palpable. 'The people are always fantastic. At the last march we went to I turned to Helen and said 'I want to be in their gang!'' That gang (my gang), though, is obviously far too small for the job, and like many of us, David wanted to find a way to broaden the audience that was even exposed to concerns about global warming. 'I read Revenge of Gaia after we had kids and I suppose it had an effect on me, but I was also aware that I was already converted to it all. I wanted to make a film that would speak to people that wouldn't watch 'An Inconvenient Truth' – to draw people in because it's funny or because they like the actors. It's not about giving people information – there's very little information in it – it's about connecting with them emotionally. Most films about climate change try to terrify you into action but that doesn't work very often because, somewhat ironically, it's not sustainable. You can't keep that level of hysteria up.' It's probably too soon to tell if it's working, but David thinks he's already seeing evidence that it's getting traction beyond the usual suspects. 'Definitely there's people turning up to the cinema or discussing it on the facebook wall that aren't greens.'

Its main appeal, of course, is that it's funny. Really funny. Mangan and Thomas' onscreen chemistry is a superlative take on the uptight straight man/inept funny man double-act, just keeping the comedy from tipping over into absolute silliness and winning back the laughs in the final act after Mark goes completely nuts and nearly kills them both. Although Mangan's renowned talent for improvisation rarely made it into the final cut – 'unfortunately you often have to cut the best bits to keep the film lean' – the actors' freedom to try new things out kept the scenes fresh, and there's a pile of out-takes that David is planning to post online. It doesn't skimp on the supporting roles either – Rosie Cavaliero stands out as Sandra, Brian's long-suffering girlfriend, and Alexander Skarsgard's understated flirtation with the oblivious Brian (culminating in a seat-wettingly funny fight over a biscuit) shows there is more to him than just being the sexiest man in Sweden. Yet it's the more serious moments bought by the laughter that really make the film stand out, and it's because the comedy is so well-pitched the emotional whack of the finale doesn't quite hit you until the credits roll. I'm sure I wasn't the only one leaving the cinema with a grin on my face and a lump in my throat.



With no marketing budget or distributor, David is working all hours to try and get the film on wider release – and depending on fans to spread the word. Their appearance at the San Francisco Indie Fest last week was almost entirely because of the work of half a dozen very committed fans who managed a lot of the logistics and drummed up support, including a 50-strong crowd chanting David's name when he arrived. ('Weird', he says, 'but fantastic.') Unlike crowd-funded 'The Age of Stupid', David had access to private funding to get the film made, but 'Beyond the Pole' is relying on the same sort of grassroots networking to build up its audience. It's early days, but films like 'The Yes Men Fix The World' are also experimenting with these sorts of 'distributed distribution', and, if they catch on, they're techniques that could revitalise the ailing independent film industry, supporting film-makers and cinemas outside the commercial mainstream. It's also fitting that films delivering messages of empowerment should be giving their fans such a central role in helping them take off. (Watch this space for details of a Climate Rush stunt to help promote the film.) I'd normally gag a little at the thought of promoting a film being an end in itself, but if watching 'Beyond the Pole' just inspires people to organise their own screening I actually think it might do something tangible to halt the irresistible rise of the climate deniers and turn the tide of public opinion to embrace action. It really is that good! Trust me, I'm an activist.

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