Cover Malcolm Wood speed-riding in Chamonix, France, where the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent (Photo: courtesy of Malcolm Wood)
Malcolm Wood speed-riding in Chamonix, France, where the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent (Photo: courtesy of Malcolm Wood)
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From melting glaciers to plastic-filled oceans, Malcolm Wood highlights the most pressing climate change issues in his documentaries, which serve as a wake-up call to embrace sustainability and take climate actions
Entrepreneurship lies at the core of everything that Malcolm Wood does. Tatler Asia’s Most Influential 2022 honouree and co-founder of the restaurant group Maximal Concepts says, “If you’re a good entrepreneur, you have the skillset to be able to do anything.” It’s the same approach he brings to the business of filmmaking.
In 2015, filmmaker Craig Leeson approached Wood and his restaurateur partner Matt Reid with footage documenting the extent of plastic pollution in the oceans. Leeson was looking to brainstorm ideas to put together a story that spreads awareness of this issue. “Matt and I came in looking at it from a business point of view,” Wood recalls. “We got together with the producer and we mapped out the storyboard. And then we came up with the name. But our approach was kind of from a marketing and branding perspective on how to tell a powerful story.”
In case you missed it: Climate Changed: How entrepreneur Malcolm Wood pushes sustainability at every level of his businesses
What came out of this was A Plastic Ocean (2016), one of the most awarded documentaries of 2017. The film inspired Wood and Reid to switch from using disposable plastics in their restaurant kitchens to more sustainable and compostable options. More importantly, it launched Wood’s interest and career in making films.
From plastic pollution, Wood took it a step further to tackle climate change in his next project. “They call it climate change now, but it still is global warming, because all these great places are melting around the world, but we chose [this topic] because it was an easily digestible subject.” Partnering again with Leeson, the budding filmmaker went on to produce The Last Glaciers (2022), a four-year project, in which he organised logistics and participated in some expeditions to film the planet’s last remaining glaciers. Wood even taught Leeson how to paraglide so that he could film the glaciers without using helicopters to keep the production’s carbon footprint as low as possible.
The entrepreneur then took a different approach to his filmmaking owing to the changing social perception of climate documentaries. “I think that within this eight-year window, [the audience has gone] from not knowing what to do to now accepting fate,” observes Wood. “And that’s a really dangerous place to be.”
But Wood continues to be determined to approach the issue of climate change from different angles through his films. His next film, The White Mountain (2024), follows the true story of two mountaineers and their relationship with France’s Mont Blanc. One is a mountain rescuer and record-seeking athlete, the other is a recovering skier who lost her partner to an avalanche. Both face their own challenges with the Mont Blanc but both return to it, drawn by its majestic beauty and their worry about its melting snow. Through this movie, Wood hopes to connect the viewers at a personable level by showing the characters’ love of nature.
“I think you can’t just show people problems [related to climate change] anymore,” Wood says. “You really have to focus your next set of films on climate solutions.” Whether showcasing solutions to air pollution or delving deeper into the quality of water and microplastics, Wood is keen to shed light on these issues in his future projects.
When asked about how it feels to be paragliding down the side of a cliff, Wood doesn’t mince his words: “Honestly, sh*t-scared. Like every time I get back in a paraglider, I’m scared.”
“[But] I want to do things that are hard. I want to do things that challenge me,” he says. “Everything that I’ve done in my life that has been worthwhile, that gives me a sense of achievement, has been hard.”
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Khoa Tran is Social Impact Editor at Tatler Hong Kong. He covers stories touching on sustainability, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and diversity. Trained as a lawyer, Khoa’s work as a writer had previously touched up topics such as regulatory compliance, ESG, and banking. Outside of the office, he enjoys rock climbing and relaxing in jazz clubs.
