By Daniel de la Calle
Yesterday was the first of our two screenings at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) museums during the RIO+20 summit. The brand new Environmental Museum (Museu do Meio Ambiente), located beside the Botanical Gardens has the glow of the brand new and still smells of paint, having been inaugurated just four days ago. The restored building and all the details on floors, on the chairs made with recycled woods or on the colorful, minimalistic decorative touches everywhere speak of a labor of love and hope. 
Hope of becoming the epicenter of discussions on nature, preservation and the arts in this beautiful city. There can be no better backdrop than the lush botanical gardens to the voices and ideas to be heard in this space. And as icing on the cake, presiding 700 meters above and framed by palm trees, the monument of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado. Hard to ask for a more breathtaking location.
A Sea Change had the privilege of being the first event to ever take place at the Museu do Meio Ambiente and start the “Cinedebate” series, where once-a-week screenings will be followed by conversations between filmmakers, specialists and the audience on environmental topics. Ours was animated from the start thanks to a wife and husband that expressed doubts about everything from the way the film was made to the environmental problems addressed at RIO+20. Their comments obviously triggered a counter response from some of the rest of the audience and so we spent over an hour talking about how to tell stories and what scientists and decision makers are doing. This is fantastic, it is exactly why we are here, to talk about it all and share our often opposed ideas with interest and respect, to create a debate that brings decisions and change.
When in Rio you must do as the cariocas do, so I am forced to head this very moment to the beach for a quick dip and some açai na tigela, but I leave you with a time-lapse I hope you enjoy.
Oh! The second screening will be on Wednesday the 20th, at 6:30PM, at the Museu da Republica. Come by!
