“The year is 2050 and alien space travelers witness the terrible destruction and suffering that planet earth has undergone from climate change and environmental destruction at the hands of its most dominant species – humans. These travelers return to the present day to warn young people about the kind of society that awaits them if action is not taken to save the planet.”

The above may sound like the working synopsis for a film to be directed by Steven Spielberg, but the fact is that Odyssey 2050: The Climate Change Film is a computer-animated sci-fi and environmental epic being produced and developed right here in Costa Rica. The lead animator in the project is Thelvin Cabezas from Cartago, whose visual effects and CGI film credits include Avatar, Beowulf, Chronicles of Narnia, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Superman Returns. Also involved in the film are Daniel Bermejo of Efecto Reversible and Bruce Callow of the British Embassy.

The Comic Book

Odyssey 2050 is an ambitious -yet very noble- project that aims to engage young people across the world in environmental debate and to motivate them into taking positive action to protect the planet. The computer-animated epic film will be the culmination of several efforts, one of which debuted on March 28^th at the Great Western Studios in London: the Odyssey 2050 comic book.

Young people are the target audience of Odyssey 2050, and thus a comic book is very suitable to advance the brand, but the underlying reason is clearly explained by Artists Project Earth (APE), one of the organizations involved in the project:

“Millions of young people do not have access to things most of us take for granted like electricity, computers and DVD players. A comic book version of Odyssey 2050 will enable kids in areas of limited technology and financial resources to be introduced to the project and have fun while they learn about climate change and the need to take action on it.

The comic will be distributed to schools in the poorest and most remote part of Latin America’s poorest country, Nicaragua. The Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua is a beautiful and culturally rich part of Nicaragua but its lacks most basic services and has endured decades of government neglect. The Caribbean Coast Catholic Church coordinators that run schools for 17,000 young Nicaraguans in the Caribbean Coast region has partnered with Odyssey 2050 to ensure that the comics will be used well by the schools in order to compliment existing environmental education programs.”

The Film’s Progress

So far there’s the comic book and the upcoming film, but the Odyssey 2050 project has been busy with awareness. Aside from the social media strategy de rigueur, the University for Peace in Costa Rica and its Earth Charter Initiative have already held an international video competition for young people who submitted their short films on climate change and the theme: “How Can We Build a Better Future Together?” A future Odyssey 2050 documentary will feature portions of these films.

A short film featuring retired NASA astronaut and Ad Astra Rocket Company founder Franklin Chang-Diaz has already been screened by international audiences.

On a recent blog post, Mr. Callow indicated that voice acting and recording is underway for the English version of Odyssey 2050. Voice actors will include Douglas Williamson of Earth Charter International and British Ambassador Sharon Campbell.

Parallels to An Inconvenient Truth

Ever since the film An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006, the debate over Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) has heated up. An Inconvenient Truth introduced millions to the concept of AGW and the work that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore has performed in bringing awareness over the issue.

Having someone with the political acumen of Al Gore present such a delicate issue turned out to be a double-edged sword. An Inconvenient Truth has done a lot to raise awareness, but it has also drawn battle lines between factions who either support AGW or who are opposed to everything Al Gore and his ideology represent. This is one of the reasons behind the preferred use of “climate change” over AGW (or the old “greenhouse effect”).

Turning the attention of young people towards the issue of climate change is a powerful way of promoting responsible practices such as carbon footprint reduction, nature conservation and sustainability. That’s the bottom line. The controversy surrounding An Inconvenient Truth has done a lot to raise awareness, and we can only hope that Odyssey 2050 can do the same for young people.

Help the Cause

Odyssey 2050 recently opened a profile on crowdfunding site IndieGoGo. The producers are looking for donations to help them achieve their funding goal of $5,000. The film production will cost $100,000, but the team is only looking for $5,000 on IndieGoGo since they have the support of other financing sources.

Like with other crowdfunding projects, individuals who donate to Odyssey 2050 will get certain perks. Donations start at $1, but whoever donates $200 will get a copy of the film and a copy of the comic book signed by Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz.

If you choose to donate $5,000 (very ideal for a business to do), you become a sponsoring partner. This means that you will reach a global audience. Your company’s name will be attached to all promotional Odyssey 2050, including DVDs, comic books, posters, global workshops, conferences, press releases, banners and special credits in the film. This could be quite the boost in publicity; just look at An Inconvenient Truth’s box office records and its multiple awards and screenings.