Climate Action! Festival 2025
Women in Activism
Thursday 3 – Wednesday 9 July
Join us from 3 – 9 July for Depot’s annual Climate Action! Festival.
This year’s theme, Women in Activism, shines a spotlight on the powerful role women play in defending our planet – amplifying voices from across the globe who are reshaping how we live with and care for the ecosystems and climate on which all life depends.
Around the world, women are much more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – facing barriers to migration, heightened health risks, and increased exposure to violence. Despite this, their voices are too often silenced or excluded from decision-making spaces, and their grassroots initiatives are severely underfunded (Source: United Nations Foundation)
The festival’s programme includes films, talks and workshops spanning topics including pollution, anti-fast fashion, indigenous river rights, and parenthood. We’ll be asking how these issues will impact future generations, while exploring the important work of the women leading the charge for environmental justice.
We hope the broad range of events under this year’s female focus will inspire everyone to nurture a thriving, and equitable planet.
Full Festival Programme
Thursday 3 July
Film: Erin Brockovich
20:00
Cert: 15
Introduced by Festival Organiser and Depot Sustainability Manager Natasha Padbury
A 25th anniversary screening of Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed drama
Erin Brockovich is a woman in a tight spot. Following a car accident in which Erin is not at fault, Erin pleads with her attorney Ed Masry to hire her at his law firm. Erin stumbles upon some medical records placed in real estate files. She convinces Ed to allow her to investigate, where she discovers a cover-up involving contaminated water in a local community which is causing devastating illnesses among its residents.
Saturday 5 July
Exclusive Preview: Savages
11:00 & 11:15
Cert: TBC. Please note: this performance will be in French with English subtitles
Includes a short film exploring the amazing work of Green United which works with pupils in primary and secondary schools in Lewes in taking action to make the world a better and more sustainable place.
Join us for this preview screening of the brilliant new film from director Claude Barras (My Life as a Courgette).
At the edge of Borneo’s lush rainforest, Kéria rescues a baby orangutan from the palm oil plantation where her father works.
When her young cousin Selaï arrives—seeking refuge from the clash between his Indigenous community and encroaching loggers—the three form a powerful bond.
Together, they discover the joys and dangers of this threatened world.
Sashiko Jeans Mending Workshop
14:00 – 16:00 in the Depot Studio
£30 per person
This workshop is all about your fave jeans (or anything really!) that need a glow up! We’ll be demonstrating the mindful skill of Sashiko stitching to breathe new life into your denim. Sashiko is the beautiful art of mending and reinforcing worn areas of clothing using patches and rows of little running stitches (sashiko literally means ‘little stabs’) We’ll be immersing ourselves in the mindful slowness and creativity of this enduring technique.
Bring along any clothes in need of love and care and any precious fabric offcuts you’d love to use (woven cloth works best). No need to bring anything else! We’ll supply our beautiful range of fabric offcuts and everything you need for an inspiring afternoon breathing new life into your loved clothes.
Film: The Line We Crossed
17:00
Cert: 15
Panel discussion with director Liz Smith and activists Pia Bastide and Valerie Brown, moderated by associate producer Serena Schellenberg.
A British story of dissent, drawn from the frontlines of climate resistance. Through the experiences of those who stood in defiance, it traces the quiet unraveling of our protest rights.
The film challenges audiences to question what makes dissent effective and where the line of acceptability is.
Sunday 6 July
Wildflower Roof Tours
Sessions at 11:00 & 13:30
Ages 8+
£3 per ticket – please book in advance
Did you know Depot’s roof is a bug-superhighway! Our rooftop garden, a stepping stone in a series of nationally connected pollinator corridors, boasts 72 species of wildflower and caters to 9 species of bee. Join us for an exclusive tour of our wildflower garden given by our very own Sustainability Manager, Natasha Padbury.
Safety and access guidance:
Suitable for 8 years plus. All children must be supervised by parents/guardians at all times. There are two flights of stairs to go up with no lift option. There are often bees and insects in higher numbers on the roof meaning there is an increased risk of bites and stings. Please ensure you consider these risks and restrictions before booking a place. A full safety briefing will be given at the start of the tour.
Exclusive Preview: Savages
11:00 & 11:15
Cert: TBC. Please note: this performance will be in French with English subtitles
Includes a short film exploring the amazing work of Green United which works with pupils in primary and secondary schools in Lewes in taking action to make the world a better and more sustainable place.
Join us for this preview screening of the brilliant new film from director Claude Barras (My Life as a Courgette).
At the edge of Borneo’s lush rainforest, Kéria rescues a baby orangutan from the palm oil plantation where her father works.
When her young cousin Selaï arrives—seeking refuge from the clash between his Indigenous community and encroaching loggers—the three form a powerful bond.
Together, they discover the joys and dangers of this threatened world.
Kids Eco Workshop (7 - 11 Years)
13:00 – 14:15 in the Depot Studio
Ages 7 -11
£3 per ticket. Please note that tickets must be booked for both adults and children attending – spaces limited!
Join us to create a magical paper rainforest inspired by the story of new animated film Savages!
We’ll cut, stick and decorate leaves and trees — and make our own rainmakers to fill the Studio with the sounds of gentle rain.
A fun, creative workshop for children and families.
Organised by our favourite collaborators at Small World Cinema, (Flow Stop Motion Animation Workshop, Chicken for Linda Workshop, Rascals Film Festival)
Film: Woman Grows Jeans
17:30
Includes a post-film Q&A with Justine Aldersey-Williams, hosted by Marren Hager, Runways Cooordinator for Brighton Fashion Collective
In the industrial heartland of British textiles, a community sets out to do something unprecedented – grow jeans from scratch. With hopes of helping regenerate harmful fashion systems, they begin planting flax and indigo, spinning yarn, and weaving cloth. When the dream of bringing them to market falters, the challenge of creating a prototype is taken on by Justine Aldersey-Williams, transforming the experiment into a personal rite of passage.
What unfolds is a tender, radical act of reconnection: to land, lineage, lost skills, and the ‘more-than-human’ world. Woman Grows Jeans explores what it really means to rewild our world, our wardrobes—and ourselves. At once a protest and a prayer, this is slow fashion as provocation: sown by hand, infused with love, and stitched with hope. For anyone who’s ever wondered if a different future is possible, this pioneering story shows that the power to create change is still in our hands.
Justine Aldersey-Williams is a Wirral-based regenerative clothing activist, botanical textile dyer, and founder of the Northern England Fibreshed. From her studio The Wild Dyery in Hoylake, she has taught natural fabric dyeing to thousands of students worldwide, sharing skills that connect people to the land through plant-based colour.
Monday 7 July
Film: Karuara, People of the River
17:45
Cert: PG
Virtual Q&A with Co-Director and Activist Stephanie Boyd
Mari Luz Canaquiri says her river is more than just a body of water — it’s a living being. Beneath the waters of Peru’s Amazon lies a world of spirits led by the Karuara, the ‘people of the river.’
But Mari Luz says the old ways are being forgotten and her people face cultural genocide. While foreign companies earn millions from the Amazon’s resources, indigenous communities lack basic development like schools, healthcare, and clean water.
She leads a federation of Kukama women who file a groundbreaking lawsuit demanding the Peruvian government recognize the Marañón River as a legal person, with rights.
In a world that puts a price tag on nature, this film takes viewers inside the magic and beauty of the Amazon region and reminds us of our sacred connection to water.
Recently Mari Luz, film producer and lead protagonist, won the coveted Goldman Environmental Prize for Latin America. Mari Luz and her Indigenous women’s organization won the lawsuit documented in the film with film clips published to the court as evidence. Stephanie will give insights into this watershed achievement.
Wednesday 9 July
Film: X Trillion
17:45
Cert: PG
Followed by a panel discussion with Helen Rankin (Managing Director of Cheeky), Lily Hallam (Depot employee and plastic free period product advocate), and Emily Thrift (PhD researcher, plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems, University of Sussex)
Screened in conjunction with Lewes Climate Hub‘s Plastic Free Lewes events
A journey that promises to change not only the women’s lives but the very future of our planet.
X Trillion follows fourteen women as they sail a gruelling 3000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean to one of the most remote places on Earth, but also the location of the densest accumulation of ocean plastic – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
A life-affirming, optimistic story of adventure, discovery, science and solidarity.
Cheeky Pants is proud to sponsor the screening of XTrillion. We believe change starts with small, conscious choices—like ditching single-use period and incontinence products for reusable, planet-friendly alternatives.
Join us in saying goodbye to single-use. It’s time to make periods (and leaks) plastic-free.
Learn more at cheekypants.com
Exhibition:
SURFACES: Integrating medicine, conservation and climate action in Papua New Guinea’s threatened rainforests
Free entry
Sat 5 & Sun 6: 17:00 – 21:00
Mon 7: 10:00 – 17:00
Tues 8: 13:00 – 21:00
Wed 9: 10:00 – 17:00
Thu 11: 10:00 – 16:00
Sat 12 & Sun 13: 10:00 – 17:00
Mon 14: 10:00 – 17:00
Photography exhibition by Dr Jessica Stockdale and Dr Jo Middleton
Project partners Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex and Wildhealth CIC
The verdant tropical rainforest of New Guinea is the third largest remaining on the planet. It is home to myriad unique species, and diverse human cultures speaking 800+ languages. However, these forests are being stripped away by multinational logging companies, and their populations face significant daily health challenges, particularly of tropical skin diseases.
As part of an indigenous-led conservation alliance, partners have established permanent health services for previously medically neglected forest communities. This has improved community health, and enabled protection of 150 km² of biodiverse rainforest, storing 1.5 million tonnes of carbon. SURFACES is a free exhibition documenting successful action in response to these interlinked crises.