The Mer de Glace Listening Project

Hi,

Our names are Kate White and Tom Burke (brother and sister dream team) and we are fundraising for a documentary film project that we are incredibly excited and passionate about. A project that also seems increasingly necessary.

The Mer de Glace Listening Project

Set against the backdrop of the iconic Chamonix valley and the surrounding mountains, the Listening Project captures the intimate stories of a diverse mix of characters as they navigate the impact of climate change on their lives.

Through poetic visuals and intimate interviews, the Listening Project invites audiences to contemplate the profound implications of environmental change on individual lives and collective identities, whilst weighing up the tensions of who should adapt and how.

In a landscape saturated with films about climate change, sports and glaciers, our documentary stands out by offering a fresh perspective that challenges the dominant narrative and amplifies the voices of mountain communities, highlighting their insight, knowledge and experience.

Why are we making this film?

We have both spent our lives visiting the mountains, an environment that we deeply love. We first visited the Mer de Glace in 1992 as kids and later Kate lived and worked in Chamonix as a ski journalist. Returning in 2022, we were shocked at how the landscape had changed. Alpine trips once felt like an escape from the world, but the mountains and glaciers offered a stark reminder that there is no escape. The human hand reaches all points. Since then, we’ve been getting to know the climbers, guides, hut guardians, farmers, technicians and politicians whose lives are connected to the glacier and surrounding mountains on a day-to-day basis. The film will explore what this changing place means to them, how they are adapting and what their unique experience can tell us all about the future.

How will we use your donations?

Donations will be used to fund shooting on location, editing and post-production. We have already captured some footage while researching this project, which can been seen in the film teaser, but now we need to really tell the story. Filming will take place in spring/summer 2024 with release planned for this autumn. The film will be shown at film festivals and other private viewings.

All donors will be fully credited and will receive updates and previews as the project progresses. We are incredibly grateful for your generosity and do not take our responsibility in using these funds lightly.

Thank you.

We’re excited to tell the stories of the people at the heart of the communities most closely connected to this iconic landscape. We’re there to listen, to document and to give an unbiased platform to the wide range of voices who have a deep connection to this changing landscape.

Thank you

Kate & Tom

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