The CCCL Film Festival returns once again at Lido Connect and The Jim Thompson Art Center from this June 12-21

Climate stories often arrive wrapped in graphs, reports and alarming headlines. The Changing Climate, Changing Lives (CCCL) Film Festival takes a different route.  Returning this June, the annual event hands the conversation over to filmmakers, artists and storytellers who document how a warming planet reshapes daily life – from shifting coastlines and extreme weather to the quieter changes rippling through communities.

Rather than sticking to familiar environmental documentary territory, CCCL puts together a programme spanning fiction, animation and experimental cinema, making the case that climate conversations can be urgent, imaginative and surprisingly moving. Emerging directors from around the world spotlight experiences that rarely reach mainstream screens, particularly those of young people and communities most affected by environmental disruption.

Several works this year blur the line between personal reflection and collective responsibility, asking audiences to sit with not only what's being lost but what can still be protected. Others bring genuine moments of optimism, spotlighting resilience, local knowledge and creative responses to a rapidly shifting world.

The festival's role stretches well past the screening room. Panel discussions, talks and networking sessions give visitors a chance to swap ideas with filmmakers, activists and fellow attendees – keeping the conversation going long after the credits roll. It's an opportunity to hear firsthand accounts, question assumptions and see how storytelling shapes public understanding of one of the defining issues of our time. 

Changing Climate, Changing Lives runs across Lido Connect and The Jim Thompson Art Center from June 12-21. Admission is free, though seats need to be reserved in advance here.