As the 31st Sheffield DocFest gets underway with an incredible array of films, we’re excited to share another insightful programme of documentaries coming up at Showroom Cinema. Running from 25-27 June, the UK Green Film Festival showcases some of the very best documentary films from around the world that explore some of the biggest environmental issues of the day.

• Did you know that there is an industry mining the floors of the oceans for minerals as part of a renewable energy scheme?

• Or that plastic production and disposal is causing devasting health impacts to communities across the world?

• What responsibility do you have to the care of other living beings?

Showroom Cinema, Sheffield has been selected as one of the handful of venues in the country to showcase the UK Green Film Festival. Take a look at their line-up which spans from 4000 feet beneath the sea all the way to the cactus on your desk…

Are we willing to repeat history? The newest green energy revolution might cause irreversible damage to aquatic ecosystems. Kicking off the festival on 25 June, Deep Rising explores how the depths of the ocean, Earth’s last untouched wilderness, are now under threat. Narrated by Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa, the film follows an organisation looking to extract seabed metals to address the global energy crisis. Before the screening, you can immerse yourself in a VR experience. A Drop in the Ocean takes you deep underwater to experience sea life and the plastics that threaten to destroy it.

On 26 June, Plastic Fantastic follows the growth of the plastic industry and its real-time and future cost. The visceral documentary follows scientists, activists, and industry lobbyists through corporate offices and out into global communities, the film asks where the crisis is leading us - and how to stop a system that is unlikely to act on ethics alone. The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Sheffield Action on Plastic.

Artistically inventive and deeply thoughtful, Lights Needs delves into the lives of houseplants who cohabitate with people, and the surprisingly complex relationships that can develop between them. Using footage collected from many different domestic and professional spaces over several years, the documentary offers a fresh perspective on the nonhuman housemates we often take for granted. Lights Needs shows on 27 June.

Discover the UK Green Film Festival’s programme at Showroom Cinema from 25 – 27 June at /ukgff2024.