The Climate and Labour Film Grant supported an experienced filmmaker to explore, through a short documentary, how climate change is affecting lives and work in the global south. The aim was to amplify new perspectives, stories, and voices on our changing climate, with a particular focus on the economic transition.
The selected filmmaker, Breech, received up to £20,000 in funding and was supported by a mentor and an Executive Producer to produce his documentary, Chocolates Melting Away. This was completed by June 2025 and is now streaming on the Financial Times’ platforms. The film is being promoted globally by all partners and featured in associated screenings.
Selected Project
FILMMAKER | Breech Asher Harani | Philippines
Breech Asher Harani is a filmmaker from the Philippines, who creates films that tackle social, cultural and environmental issues. In 2019, he was honored as Film Ambassador by the Film Development Council of the Philippines when he became a Young Creatives Awardee by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also the only Filipino artist listed by Forbes Magazine’s ’30 Under 30′ for Arts in Asia 2020, a recipient of Rockefeller Foundation’s CNN Academy: Climate Storytelling Program 2023, New Scientist Editor’s Awardee by The Royal Geographic Society, and Special Jury Awardee for short film by Cinemalaya 2024. See Breech Asher’s work here.
STORY | Chocolates Melting Away
Chocolates Melting Away offers an urgent, intimate, and hopeful portrait of a community navigating the frontlines of climate change.
Scientists predict that chocolates may go extinct by 2050. This documentary explores the challenges facing cocoa farming and its future in Davao, Philippines. Through Breech’s lens, we see not only the challenges brought by a warming planet but also the resilience and innovation of a community fighting to protect their way of life.
What kind of stories?
Through Pulitzer’s Our Work/Environment initiative, journalists have documented some of the risks of rising temperatures for workers, in fields and in factories. In the past two years, reporters have travelled throughout India and across Nigeria, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uruguay, Paraguay and South Africa to document the impact of extreme heat and weather on some of the world’s most vulnerable workers—including women who are often heads of household—and we encourage stories that detail the interconnected nature of business, climate, and consumer choices. We want to understand workers. We want to understand companies. We appreciate accountability reporting.
The proposed film needs to be under 25 minutes, and be completed by June 2025.
Who is it for?
This grant is for storytellers from the global south and working in the global south. We’re particularly keen to hear creative proposals, ideas that are newsworthy, cover an underreported story, or hear from people who are often unheard and offer unexpected or rare access to working conditions and workplaces.
What does the filmmaker receive?
- Up to £20k funding for their film
- An industry mentor, an Executive Director and production support
- A commission from the Financial Times with the film freely available on the FT’s platforms
- Global promotion of the film by all three partners and associated screenings
- Demonstrate an understanding of accountability and fair practice in reporting
- Membership of the OWM global alumni network