Chinese Premiere of SDG Film Inspires Action to Build a Better World

The event provided Chinese audiences with the first opportunity to see the film in person, with organizers aiming to encourage a better understanding of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promote discussion on China’s efforts and achievements on these subjects.

Produced in partnership with 72 Films, Project Everyone and directed by UN SDG Advocate Richard Curtis, “Nations United” was released to mark the UN’s 75th anniversary and the 5th year since the adoption of the SDGs. 

The ‘first of its kind’ film features activists and celebrities who walk audiences through global challenges, from COVID to poverty, inequality, gender discrimination and climate change. “Nations United” uses the SDGs as a blueprint and seeks to focus on the solutions and practical evidence-based actions needed to build a brighter future. 

“In these unprecedented times, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are more relevant than ever”, said Amakobe Sande, interim UN Resident Coordinator in China at her opening speech at the screening. “I hope the film inspires you to join us in this fight. The UN in China stands ready to walk hand in hand with the people of China in equal partnership as we achieve the SDGs together”.

“Nations United” was aired as part of “Imagine2030”, a program launched by GZDOC to promote public awareness and dialogue on critical global issues. “Imagine2030” uses the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as its framework, hosting film screenings, forums, and educational program in several Chinese cities this year. 

Joy Jia Yi, the initiator of the Imagine 2030 from GZDOC explains that documentaries like “Nations United” can move people hearts, turning these issues into vivid stories, visible characters and perceptible media.

In a post-screening panel session for “Nations United”, experts were invited to join an in-depth discussion on the film, the issues that it raises, and the implications in China. 

“To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we still have a lot to do. We have eliminated absolute poverty, but we still have relative poverty, and our absolute poverty is also a very low standard. This requires all of us to take responsibility and work hard to achieve these goals”, said Tang Min, Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of the State Council Poverty Alleviation Officer, at the panel.

Nations United

“Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times” is produced by 72 Films, an award-winning production company which creates innovative, ambitious projects that aim to inspire, entertain and make a positive contribution to the cultural landscape. The company has had previous commissions from the BBC, Netflix and National Geographic, and recently produced “The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty.”

Project Everyone

Project Everyone was co-founded by writer, director, and SDG Advocate Richard Curtis, Kate Garvey and Gail Gallie with the ambition to help achieve the Global Goals through raising awareness, holding leaders accountable, and driving action. Find out more at www.project-everyone.org.

72 Films

72 Films is an award-winning production company which produces ground-breaking, powerful, sensitively handled and thought-provoking content. Their projects have been nominated for Grierson, Royal Television Society, Broadcast and BAFTA Awards and have won three RTS Awards.

72 Films was founded by David Glover and Mark Raphael who met when they were commissioning editors at Channel 4. They are widely acknowledged as some of the most original programme-makers in British television.

Together they have built a reputation as one of the UK’s leading creative forces, being named as one of Realscreen’s Global 100 production companies of 2019 and nominated for best independent production company at the Broadcast Awards in 2020

Sustainable Development Goals

On 25 September 2015, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, 193 world leaders committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals). These are a series of ambitious objectives and targets to end extreme poverty and hunger, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change, by 2030.