Finding Common Ground: Film Screening on Governors Island Sparks Deeper Climate Observation

Following the film screening, panelists engaged in discussion. Pictured (left to right) are producers Eliza Schiff and Meredith DeSalazar; Sarah Goodwin, executive director of the Science Communication Lab; film-featured observer and biologist David Haskell; and J.D. Allen, lecturer at the School of Communication and Journalism.

During Climate Week NYC, a group of approximately 60 climate scientists, activists, students, professors and communicators gathered on Governors Island for a unique event centered on the power of observation. The event, hosted by The New York Climate Exchange, in partnership with Stony Brook University and the Science Communication Lab/Wonder Collaborative, featured a screening of the new documentary film, OBSERVER.

The setting itself was immersive: a converted church (Building 309) that still carried the subtle scent of frankincense and myrrh. Stained glass windows in hues of blue, green, pink and orange filtered the light, falling across the dozens of small red frames lining the stage, a motif central to the film.

OBSERVER, released in March 2025, follows filmmaker Ian Cheney's experiment, bringing scientists, artists and other 'observers' to diverse, surprising locations around the world - without telling them their destination - and asking them to describe what they see.

The film serves as a testament to the depth of individual experience. In one segment, two scientists - including biologist David Haskell, who was part of the Q&A that followed the screening - were flown thousands of miles, learning just 48 hours before that they were in Sicily. As they inspect the site, they notice rock types, ancient buildings and fossils. A red frame is placed within a rock bed before a stream, prompting a scientist to describe the geological history of the formation.

The film jumps from Greenland - the result of a dart throw on a map in Mississippi, where the message is "take time to notice things" - to Seoul, South Korea, where a microbiologist highlights "the alien nature of the microscopic world," and to Chile, where an observer explains, "we are part of 'the everything'." Each perspective, whether from a biologist, poet, physicist and so on, reveals a unique way of understanding the world previously hidden.

Stony Brook University students Hadar Pepperstone and Maryam Elfeky participate in a hands-on activity following the film screening.

The screening event was made possible through a grant secured by J.D. Allen, lecturer in Stony Brook University's School of Communication and Journalism. Allen, who specializes in climate communications, secured the funding with Sarah Goodwin, executive director of the Science Communication Lab.

Following the screening, a panel discussion and hands-on observational activities reinforced the film's central theme. Panelists included Goodwin, Allen, Haskell, and producers Eliza Schiff and Meredith DeSalazar.

Allen stressed the importance of shared observation: "I think that as we learn to observe together with our individual expertise, we can find common ground on issues like clean energy, conservation and climate impact. When you bring many people together to build that story, you gain a deeper sense of what that reality is."

Haskell echoed this call for local connection, noting the modern disconnect from nature, "We live in a time where we can't name the trees on our street or the sound of a bird's calls. It is important to dig down where you are at home and learn about the world around you."

Following the film, the attendees engaged in an activity designed to immediately apply this concept. Participants paired up and were each given a replica of the red frames used in the movie.

The task was for each partner to independently describe what they saw in the frame placed somewhere in Governors Island's historic and vibrant landscape. They then shared their detailed descriptions with one another, demonstrating how their unique perspective resulted in vastly different, yet equally valid, observations of the exact same image.

The message resonated deeply with attendees, including Stony Brook student Maryam Elfeky, a junior double-majoring in political science and communication. She reflected on the connection between observation and human understanding: "The film made me think about empathy, and how if more people could take the time to view those different perspectives, it could do so much good for the world."

The event was supported by grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Schmidt Sciences and University of California, Santa Cruz Science Communication Catalyst Grant.

- Jess Stallone