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Using the Power of Storytelling to Drive Real-World Action for a More Sustainable Future

For more than 39 years, tve has been using the power of storytelling to drive real-world action for a more sustainable future. We believe that film is a powerful tool for education, advocacy, and change. By telling stories that inspire and inform, we hope to empower people to take action to protect our planet.

tve works with filmmakers and partners around the world to produce films about environmental challenges and solutions. Our films span a range of formats, from long-form documentaries to innovative television series and short digital videos. We have a proven track record of producing high-quality films that have a positive impact on the world.

DECADES OF DESTRUCTION

Prepare to be visually immersed in 'Decade of Destruction,' a groundbreaking online graphic novel series by us that transforms a decade of award-winning documentaries into powerful and thought-provoking comic book narratives. This unique project reinterprets crucial real-world events, offering a fresh and impactful perspective on social, political, and environmental issues. Each volume delves into a different documentary, bringing to life the stories of individuals and communities through stunning visuals and a compelling narrative voice.

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Introducing tve

Adrian Cowell's obituary in The Guardian starts: Of all the campaigning journalists and filmmakers who worked in television, Adrian Cowell, who died of a heart attack at the age of 77, was one of the most successful in realising the power of the medium.His Decade of Destruction series of five films shot over ten years between 1980 and 1990 for ITV and Channel 4 alerted the world to the systematic ravaging of the Amazon rainforest and helped to make the environment a political issue.

Adrian wasn't best pleased at our first meeting because when I got the Head of Documentaries job, my much-appreciated predecessor, Charles Denton, who 'moved up' to Director of Programmes, assured Adrian he would continue working directly with him. However, as Charles's workload increased, that inexorably changed.

Adrian started by explaining that it would be impossible for me to understand how he worked in the short time he'd be in London. "Where are you going?" I asked. "Didn't Charles tell you? Back to Brazil," which made sense. Adrian first visited Brazil in 1959 for an Oxford-Cambridge expedition filming in the Brazilian rainforest. "The working title is Decade Of Destruction."

"But," I responded far too fast. "ATV (Associated Television) is fighting for a new franchise, so we may not be around in three years, let alone ten." The long and short of the rest of our discussion was that the franchise was my problem'-he had an important series to make. He did.

Here's another quote from Adrian's Guardian obituary: After discovering that the World Bank was lending nearly half a billion dollars to the colonisation project, Cowell screened his footage at congressional hearings in the US. This formed part of the campaign, resulting in the US cutting 20% off its annual donation to the World Bank, which halted loan payments. Cowell documented the saga in his film Decade of Destruction film, Banking On Disaster (1987).

In the meantime, I hired environment journalist Robert Lamb, who freelanced as a speechwriter for Dr Mostafa Tolba, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Robert also introduced me to Ivan Hattingh at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

A year later, Robert and I flew to Nairobi to meet Dr. Tolba and propose setting up TVE with UNEP and WWF. TVE quickly became a safe harbour for me to put Adrian's Decade of Destruction series alongside a few others concerning the environment.

If ATV lost its franchise, its successor, Central Independent Television (Central), would be obliged to take on these series. Ivan became TVE's first Chair, and Robert became its Executive Director. Adrian and I represented Central as TVE trustees. A decade later, Cheryl Campbell succeeded Robert, and I became Chair. Forty years on TVE, now led by Surina Narula and Mei Sim Lai, is thriving.

Richard Creasey

Trustee Emeritus