Climate Spring announces new film titles as part of growing 40+ projects slate, including new Steve Coogan comedy and more

Today, Climate Spring, the global organisation dedicated to transforming how the climate crisis is represented in mainstream entertainment and popular culture, announces new film titles as part of its rapidly growing development slate, ahead of the Berlinale European Film Market (EFM) 2025.

Underpinning an increasing audience demand and industry appetite for commercially viable climate stories across film, TV and mainstream entertainment, the number of Climate Spring-supported projects has more than doubled in the past year. Led by screen industry and climate experts, Climate Spring is now funding and co-financing development, supporting, and consulting on more than 40 film, scripted and unscripted TV projects across a wide range of genres.

Newly announced film development projects include:

• The Good Life (Funny Peculiar Ltd. in association with Bright Pictures Ltd.) - a comedy starring celebrated British actor Steve Coogan as a London PR guru who greenwashes the reputations of the world’s worst polluters. Discovering he only has a few months to live, he tries to repair the damage in his professional and private life, starting with his estranged eco-activist daughter (written by James Handel & Matt Winn and Steve Coogan, produced by Sarah Sulick and Matt Winn, International sales Metro International).
• The American Can (Backdoor Films) - based on a true story, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina disillusioned U.S. Marine Veteran John Keller must confront his inner demons to save people trapped in a building, while racial tensions rise (written and directed by Adetoro Makinde).
• Wolf Border (AC Chapter One) - a feature adaptation of multi award-winning Sarah Hall’s novel that explores the controversial reintroduction of a wolf pack into the British countryside (co-written by Sarah Hall and acclaimed Welsh writer and poet, Owen Sheers).
• The Many Lives of James Lovelock - a biopic of the visionary British scientist who invented Gaia theory (written by Jonathan Watts, produced by Max Pugh and Bryony Worthington).
• Little Red Hen - a darkly comic and allegorical Eco-horror film about who we want to bring with us into the new dawn (written by celebrated writer Bryony Kimmings).

Lucy Stone, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Spring, said:

"The rapid expansion of our slate reflects an ever-increasing appetite - from audiences and industry alike - for stories that address the climate crisis in creative and innovative ways. At Climate Spring, we believe that a strong climate story doesn’t need to explicitly mention climate; it can explore the systemic causes and inspiring solutions, with climate as a lens to tell compelling, genre-driven narratives. Whether it’s a thriller, comedy or drama, stories can captivate audiences while reflecting the changes and transformations shaping our world. Our growing slate demonstrates that climate storytelling is not only urgent but also commercially and creatively exciting."

Len Rowles, Head of Film and International, Climate Spring, said:

“We’re seeing an increase in pitches and interest from buyers, producers and financiers who recognise the potential in this space. At the same time, talent is stepping up - initiatives like the actor-led Green Rider campaign show a real commitment to bringing climate to the forefront of our industry.”

In addition to its film slate, Climate Spring is also working with leading TV productions companies, including New Pictures, Chapter One and Me + You Productions, on an exciting range of TV and limited series projects from true crime and big tech thrillers to critically acclaimed book adaptations and family stories.
Climate Spring has also acted as a consultant on a number of TV series including top-performing series After the Flood Season 1 (Quay Street, ITV), the forthcoming TV adaptation of Geoff Dembicki’s book The Petroleum Papers (New Pictures, adapted by The Rig creator David MacPherson) as well as soon to be released procedural series Weiss and Morales (TVE, ZDF).

Additional Climate Spring-supported film, scripted and unscripted TV titles and collaborations will be announced throughout the year.

#Ends #

For further press information please contact: Sara Oberthaler, Head of Communications: sara@climate-spring.org

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NOTES TO THE EDITOR

About Climate Spring:

Climate Spring is a global organisation dedicated to transforming how the climate crisis is represented in film, TV, mainstream entertainment and popular culture.

Led by a collective of screen industry, cultural and climate experts, Climate Spring works closely with screen industry partners, gatekeepers, commissioners, producers and other creatives to identify, incentivise and support engaging and commercially viable climate content for film and TV.

Climate Spring offers early-stage development funding for scripted and unscripted content; editorial consulting on the climate elements of film and TV projects for writers, commissioners and producers; training and writers development opportunities; and support in moving a project from idea to distribution.

Climate Spring is currently funding and co-financing development, supporting and consulting on 40+ film and TV projects, in a range of genres from crime to thriller to romantic comedy.

Website: www.climate-spring.org
Instagram: @climate__spring
LinkedIn: Climate Spring

About the projects referenced in this press release:

THE GOOD LIFE

Written by James Handel & Matt and Steve Coogan; directed by Matt Winn; produced by Sarah Sulick and Matt Winn
Starring: Steve Coogan
Company: Funny Peculiar Ltd. in association with Bright Pictures Ltd.
Format: Feature
Genre: Comedy

Comic genius Steve Coogan stars as Roger Wyburn, the ultimate Mr. Fixit for dictators, oil and gas companies, and problematic politicians. Charismatic but completely amoral, Roger is shocked out of complacency when told he has only six months to live. Can he re-balance his karma before it’s too late?

Set in the rarefied world of wealth, power and privilege in London, The Good Life portrays the contemporary media machine at the top of its game, exemplified by Roger’s PR company, Price Wyburn. The film will show us a realm few have access to – hidden away, behind closed doors. On the surface, Roger lives the very best of lives, but his amorality finally catches up with him as he faces imminent death. Then the glitzy exhaustion of his surroundings begins to look tacky and his superficiality is found desperately wanting. And, for the first time, Roger is forced to reimagine what the good life really means.

THE AMERICAN CAN

Written and directed by Adetoro Makinde
Format: Feature
Genre: Drama/Action/Thriller

Inspired by a true story, John Keller, a Gulf War Marine trapped in a flooded apartment complex during Hurricane Katrina must lead a group of stranded residents to safety, confronting systemic failures, personal demons, and the resilience of the human spirit. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, a city known for its resilience and culture, The American Can is a gripping tale of survival, community, and redemption. It explores the profound human cost of climate disasters and the enduring power of ordinary people who rise to extraordinary challenges. This screenplay project, endorsed by The Black List, has been championed by humanitarians such as Angelina Jolie. The story has been featured on prominent platforms including The Weather Channel, National Geographic Channel, American Heroes Channel, The History Channel, and The Military Channel.

WOLF BORDER

Co-written by Sarah Hall and Owen Sheers, adapted from Sarah Hall’s award-winning novel
Production Company: AC Chapter One
Format: Feature
Genre: Drama

Sometimes we need the wild to be home. When wolf conservationist and expectant mother Rachel Caine returns to her native Cumbria, she’s forced to confront her dysfunctional past. Through the controversial reintroduction of a wolf pack into the British countryside, she begins to overcome her fears of connection to eventually rediscover herself and the bonds of family she thought she’d lost for ever.

THE MANY LIVES OF JAMES LOVELOCK

Adaptation of the recently published book: The Many Lives of James Lovelock, written by biographer Jonathan Watts, produced by Max Pugh and Bryony Worthington)
Format: Feature
Genre: Drama/Biopic

The real-life story of MI6’s “Q”, aka James Lovelock, whose Cold War spying activities (and romances) led to scientific discoveries of global importance: the ozone hole, industrial pollution and the vital climate relationship between life on Earth and the atmosphere above us - what he named Gaia.

LITTLE RED HEN

Written by Bryony Kimmings
Format: Feature
Genre: Horror

Little Red Hen is a darkly comic and allegorical horror film inspired by the children’s story of the same name. It follows an outsider arriving in an inhospitable farming community in rural England, to start an eco homestead. In the process, she is ostracised, ridiculed and sabotaged in her endeavours. Until what she has created is suddenly the only means of survival. And everyone who shunned her turns up on her doorstep… What follows is a twisted and macabre horror fable about who we want to bring with us into the new dawn.