The Green Lens: How can filmmakers engage communities for the energy transition?
As the world shifts toward sustainable energy, filmmakers hold a unique power to bridge the gap between technical developments and local communities.
The Melbourne Energy Institute, in collaboration with the FEIT Film Festival, welcomes Swiss director Claudio von Planta (known for his work with Ewan McGregor on the Long Way Round series), to discuss these complexities.
Mr. Von Planta will give a presentation on highlights from his 35-year career, filming energy projects and visionaries in over 100 countries. Using photos and film clips, he will share first-hand experiences from these regions and introduce his latest filmmaking venture.
A central part of the event is an interactive Q&A audience. The discussion will focus directly on the core question of the evening: how can filmmaking be used to engage communities and navigate the challenges of driving the energy transition.
Endorsed by Ewan McGregor, an advocate for environmental conservation and climate awareness (National Geographic).
Event details
Date: Thursday 20 August 2026
Time: 5pm - 6:45pm AEST
Event type: Hybrid (in-person and online. Note: webinar begins at 5:45pm)
In-person location: Forum Theatre (room 148A), 1st Floor, Arts West North Wing (building 153), University of Melbourne, Parkville campus
Register
Speakers
Claudio von Planta
Swiss documentary filmmaker, director and cinematographer
Claudio von Planta is a multi-award-winning Swiss documentary filmmaker known for his work in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. He began his career in 1985, reporting from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, and his first long-form documentary, 'Rebels Of The Forgotten World' (1989), explored the Papuan independence struggle against Indonesia. Claudio is also one of the world’s most seasoned expedition filmmakers.
Since 2004, he has gained global recognition as director of photography on 'Long Way Round, Down, Up and Home', following actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on motorbike journeys across Africa, South America, around the world, and beyond.
Drawn increasingly to clean-tech and e-mobility stories, Claudio has documented several pioneering renewable-energy expeditions. His credits include 'Racing Green' (BBC World, 2011), the first electric-car journey from Alaska to Argentina; 'Chasing The Jet Stream' (2018), exploring high-altitude wind power; 'Chasing The Peak' (2023), capturing a Guinness-verified altitude world record with a solar-powered seven-ton electric truck; and 'La Croisière Verte' (2025), the first EV crossing of Africa from Morocco to Cape Town, powered exclusively with renewable energy.
Read more about Claudio von Planta's fascinating documentary, CHASING THE PEAK (2025), following three Swiss engineers who retrofitted a truck with solar panels to attempt a high-altitude world record in the Chilean Andes.
Dr. Claudia Sandberg
Senior Lecturer, Technology in Culture and Society
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Melbourne
Claudia's research explores the role of film and audiovisual media in engineering education, with a particular focus on ethics, gender, and the social dimensions of technology.
Drawing on her background in German and Latin American film studies, she develops interdisciplinary teaching approaches that integrate film into engineering curricula. Claudia is the founder of the annual University of Melbourne Engineering Film Festival.
Moderator
Dr. Mitch Goodwin
Lecturer and Curriculum Designer
Faculty of Arts
University of Melbourne
Mitch Goodwin is a media artist, curator and an academic with a research focus on digital aesthetics, media ecologies, education futures and cultures of automation. He has a diverse publication profile including critical media studies, curriculum design, and digital anthropology. Mitch was the Founding Director of Screengrab International (2009-15) and curator of the associated exhibition program which interrogated the political and technical infrastructures of network culture. He is currently developing a monograph and a media assemblage, The Digital Gothic, and working with generative AI for an international collaboration, Slow Down Time. Mitch is a Liverpool FC fan and a Bowie tragic.
