In collaboration with BIFED Documentary Festival.

“Researcher loses his job after refusing to fly.” That New York Times headline broke in October 2023, alongside a selfie of Gianluca Grimalda in a dugout canoe—intellectual glasses under an Indiana Jones hat. To reach his fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, Grimalda embarked on a 40-day, 28,000-kilometer journey by train, bus, ferry, and cargo ship—emitting ten times less CO₂ than a flight. After six months of research, his university ordered him back within five days, implying he must fly. He refused, and was fired. An activist with Scientist Rebellion, Grimalda gave up his career, relationship, and the job he loved to sound an alarm for the planet and to show another way forward.

This film leaves us with a question: Is it The Researcher’s story that seems extreme—or is it the everyday choices we all make?

The screening will be followed by a talk from the director Paolo Casalis.

In English with English subtitles