THE FIRST SCREENING: “The entire society we live in is built on the oppression and suffering of others.”

On January 20th, earlier this year, Bel Jacobs and The Empathy Project hosted the first screening of The Empathy Project film, a documentary about change and compassion in animal activism.

One hundred and fifty people booked to see the film; most stayed for the post-screening discussion with Bel, director Tristan Copley-Smith and subjects from the film Dan Richardson, Tom Harris and Laila Kassam, both of Project Phoenix and the Animal Freedom Network.

The film charts the deeply personal stories of 12 activists, including celebrity chef Alexis Gauthier, former RSPCA Vice President Jane Tredgett and award-winning gardener Cleve West, and explores the idea of empathy as a catalyst for change.

The post-screening discussion was equally rich and provocative. “It wasn’t just that I became vegetarian,” recalls Harris, of seeing a butcher’s shop for the first time. “Something in me was broken - or was fixed - and it made me start to question authority.

“I was lucky it happened when I was 9 years old. Most of us have these awakenings when we’re fully immersed in this system. Because it isn’t just that ‘we eat animals and it’s wrong.’ The entire society we live in is built on the oppression and suffering of others.”

Kassam spoke about societal trauma and speciesism. “What must we have had to do to ourselves, 10,000 years ago, to start systematically commodifying and killing other animals, who we had seen as kin, as guides, as teachers; as sentient beings? What psychic harm have we done to ourselves?”

“I’d rather not be living in ignorant bliss and still contributing to that,” added Dan Richardson, reflecting action as the antidote to despair. “That’s why I believe that once people have lifted the veil and seen what’s going on, there’s nothing that would get me to dis-engage from that. It’s my purpose in life. As an activist, I think love wins. In the end. But even if someone said to me, no, it gets worse, I’d be like, I’m still fighting. On principle, I’m still fighting.”

This film was created to be a tool for change. If you would like to host a community screening for your organisation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Please email karl@cholla.agency and bel@theempathyproject.co.uk with queries and requests.

Photography equipment including cameras and camera bags on gravel ground surrounding a group of brown and white chickens near a black car with shiny wheels.
A woman sits on a chair inside a barn surrounded by sheep, filming or participating in a video shoot with a camera operator and filming equipment.
A man petting a black and white Holstein cow in a farm setting, with another cow nearby and trees in the background.
An indoor video or photo shoot setup with a woman sitting in front of cameras and lighting equipment in a rustic studio with exposed brick and weathered wall.
A woman with glasses and a black jacket kneeling and smiling while feeding two turkeys in an outdoor farm-like setting.