TIFF to feature films about teenage activists Greta Thunberg and Autumn Peltier

TORONTO – The Toronto International Film Festival is filling out its lineup with two new films about teenagers leading the charge to save the environment.

Organizers announced on Thursday that the festival will feature documentaries about Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Anishinaabe water protector Autumn Peltier.

“I Am Greta” follows Thunberg in 2018 when, at age 15, her school strike outside the Swedish Parliament set off a global youth-led movement calling for action on climate change.

Peltier is the subject of “The Water Walker,” a short film tracking the 15-year-old’s journey from Wiikwemkoong First Nation in northern Ontario to Manhattan to speak at UN headquarters about the importance of universal access to clean drinking water.

Peltier is also set to take part in a special talk at TIFF about the impact of climate activism on future generations.

Both films will be available on the festival’s online screening platform, Bell Digital Cinema. Canadians can watch “The Water Walker” for free.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2020.