After receiving the Berlin Kiez Film Festival award we are delighted to share the news that the MY NAME IS CLIMATE Film Festival 2025″ in Birmingham, UK, has now also endorsed our work with the Honourable Mention. A very happy team at STORYRUNNER, SIM2 KU Leuven, LITHOS and EXCEED.
Europe’s Lithium Paradox (Journeyman Pictures)– Honourable Mention Award.
Furthermore, on 24 July 2025, our documentary received a nomination by British Columbia Environmental Film Festival Society.
TO MAKE HASTE SLOWLY
In crazy global geopolitical times, where critical metals like lithium and (heavy) rare earths are being weaponised at neck-breaking speed, our lithium documentaries are timely reminders that Europe needs to shift gears. To make haste slowly is the message.
Indeed, Europe must act swiftly to ensure the climate transition doesn’t stall. This means advancing domestic energy transition-metal mining, demand-side management, circular & recycling solutions, and responsible sourcing from aligned nations like Chile, Canada, and Australia. Make no mistake: the alarm bells are ringing. Europe is losing out to China across the mine-to-EV supply chain. A new strategy is urgently required: more vertical integration, long-term planning, and a systemic “Make-in-Europe-buy-in-Europe” approach, with green public procurement and state aid favouring local/recycled content, using output-based support. Failure to act would leave EU behind in the race for critical minerals, deepening dependency on nations with lower ESG standards, accelerating deindustrialisation, and fuelling extreme-right movements that thrive on unemployment and despair, ultimately leading to a rejection of climate goals.
BUT… this urgent need for primary metal mining cannot be rushed at the expense of local communities. True engagement, beyond “public acceptance” or “societal readiness” (sic), is essential. The future must be built with civil society, not in opposition to it. We must step out of the trenches of lithium warfare and co-create solutions that benefit all. Let’s also challenge the mining industry to rethink conventional mining practices and embrace Responsible Mining v2.0, a model where local communities aren’t just passive bystanders but genuine beneficiaries and even shareholders.
Read more about Europe’s Lithium Paradox here
- Presenter: Dr. Ir. Peter Tom Jones (SIM2 KU Leuven)
- Director: Stijn van Baarle
- Producer: STORYRUNNER
- Funding: Horizon Europe LITHOS, Horizon Europe EXCEED, SIM2 KU Leuven & KU Leuven Crowdfunding
- Distributor: Journeyman Pictures
- Awards:
- Best Environment and Climate Film at the Berlin Kiez Film Festival (2 July 2025)
- Honourable Mention Award at My Name is Climate Film Festival (23 July 2025)
