The power of storytelling to shift cultural narratives was a consistent theme during three talks with award-winning actress and activist Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Downhill”), Eva Longoria (Sylvie’s Love”), and Julie Taymor (Director, “The Glorias”) at the EW x NRDC Sundance Film Festival Panel Series in Park City, Utah this week. Alec Baldwin (“Beast Beast”), Ron Howard (“Rebuilding Paradise”), and Zazie Beetz (“Nine Days”) were among other panelists at the NRDC Impact Lounge, who spoke about how films can build social movements and create long term change.
2020 Sundance Film Festival Panel Series:
(Photo by Kim Raff/Getty Images for NRDC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Downhill”) – As an activist and filmmaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was interviewed by EW Editor-in-Chief J.D. Heyman. This conversation focused on how to combat climate change. She explained how she became an activist by traveling the world with her family on behalf of a humanitarian health NGO Project Hope. She then expanded,“There was a culture in my family of giving back. And not just giving back, but a feeling of being linked to your community. That you are very much your neighbor’s keeper.” This “Veep” star was there to promote her new film, “Downhill”, that co-stars Will Ferrell. The film is about a family on a ski vacation in the Alps who barely escapes an avalanche and is forced to re-evaluate their lives and feelings.
Eva Longoria (“Sylvie’s Love”) – On Sunday morning, Eva Longoria, also chatted with EW Editor-in-Chief J.D. Heyman at the NRDC Impact Lounge. As a Mexican-American actress, she is one of the most visible Latinas in entertainment, who also spoke at The Latinx House at Sundance. Longoria’s new film is about a woman working at her father’s record store in Harlem in the late 1950s who meets an aspiring saxophone player. During this interview, Longoria commented about “Sylvie’s Love”; “It’s a beautiful, beautiful period piece…It’s really a love letter to the jazz community.”
As an actress, producer, and director, Longoria is committed to telling diverse stories. She added, “Normally, women and people of color get one bite of the apple. So if it fails, that’s it…You get one bite of the apple — and that’s still kind of true. So there’s an immense pressure I feel…because I’ve got to get it right.” Longoria sings and dances in this film, and says “”I didn’t choose this [film], it chose me.”
Photo by Desiree Navarro/Getty Images
Julie Taymor (Director, “The Glorias”) – After meeting Gloria Steinem over a decade ago, she finally gave Julie Taymor the green light to develop “The Glorias”, which is a feature film based on Steinem’s life and book “My Life on the Road.” The film stars Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander who play Steinem from the ages of 20 to 40 as a feminist icon and equal rights crusader. Taymor explained, “I know that many young women that I’ve met know the look, the glasses, the cool clothes… they know she (Gloria) was attractive, but they don’t really know what she was about.”“The Glorias” film will be an eye-opener for a new generation.
Many thanks to EW and the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) for hosting these panel discussions. The NRDC recognizes that storytelling can change the world. Their lounge was filled with posters about taking action to prevent climate change. We’ve all seen how films and television shows use the power of storytelling to advance movements towards social change. As a result, NRDC is launched their Rewrite the Future at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which is a new initiative to work with filmmakers on telling more and varied climate stories to help change our cultural narrative about climate.
