'We were lucky to have Kate Winslet narrating': Ballincollig man makes documentary with Oscar-winner

A BALLINCOLLIG man, who is among the producers of an environmental documentary narrated by Titanic actor, Kate Winslet has opened up about working with the star.

Leesider Mark Galvin co-produced the film Eating Our Way To Extinction which is now streaming on Apple TV as well as other platforms. He got involved with the project through the World Preservation Foundation — a non-profit organisation educating people on the causes of climate change and other environmental disasters.

Also featuring Richard Branson and renowned motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, the documentary tells the story of our planet through shocking testimonials and poignant accounts from indigenous people. It also includes contributions from globally renowned figures and leading scientists.

Mark — who co-produced the film with Ludo Brockway and Kian Tavakkoli — said that having Ms Winslet involved helped them to publicise their project in a way that may otherwise not have been possible.

“We were lucky to have Kate Winslet narrating the documentary for us as it helped us enormously in getting the project out there,” he said. 

“She put so much time into the documentary and was a real pro.”

He praised her work ethic adding: “Kate just gets on with things. If she commits to something then she commits to it 100%. You can see that in her career. She just won an Emmy and is on Forbes list of top 100 most influential people. She also has an amazing presence.”

The Cork native, who is now based in the UK, said he never gets starstruck in his line of work.

“It’s different meeting someone in a professional context than it is when you are meeting them at a social event,” he said. “There is so much work to get on with and everyone is so busy. It’s always your passion that leads you to do something. It’s also what brings you into contact with certain people. This is what’s happening within the environmental movement.”

He said the internet is offering people a chance to come together.

“People are connecting, with the help of the internet, who might never have connected before. You get to meet people a lot quicker now and it’s amazing to see who wants to get involved and help. That’s a big advantage for anyone starting a project. When it comes to social justice issues anyone can turn up and say ‘I want to get involved’.”

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson was among those to get involved.

“Richard Branson was a very humble guy for the position that he’s in. These are people who don’t just talk about things. They stand up and take action for what they believe in. We did multiple recordings of him which he is sharing on social media to let the world know about the project. There are so many great documentaries out there that don’t see the light of day but they weren’t able to get the publicity so, in this regard, we’re very lucky.”

One of the most difficult challenges for Mark was deciding on the final edit.

“We did multiple screenings which were enjoyable in one sense but painful in another. We ended up with 190 days of different recordings from around the world so we have massive amounts of footage that had to be cut down to an hour and 20 minutes. Removing people who contributed to the edit is tough. 

"You have to get as much footage as you can to edit the project but having to determine which parts need to be cut out can be very difficult. The process has been a learning curve to say the least.”

He emphasised the lifestyle changes needed to make a difference to our planet.

“Tree planting is one of the only ways to absorb enough carbon to lessen the effects of climate change,” he said.

“Mass tree planting is one of the essential things we need to do over the next 20 years along with staying off meat products. The sale of petrol and diesel cars in Norway is down to 10% and it’s predicted that by 2025 there will be none left. The government is subsidising everyone who buys an electric car and these same subsidies need to be made available to farmers to produce more vegetable crops. It would really help to start seeing these kinds of incentives in the food industry.”

He said that people are now starting to take the devastating impact of climate change seriously.

“The timing now seems to be perfect in terms of awareness. People are more open to talking about this after seeing how a small virus can affect the whole world.

“We are seeing the same effect with climate change. They are listening to the science and what’s happened in the last few years.

“We can see this playing out on the news so I don’t think there is anyone who is in denial anymore.”

Eating Our Way to Extinction is now available to watch on a variety of streaming services including Apple, Amazon, and Vudu.