“Jessie represents everyone who has ever felt like their voice isn’t listened to in the climate conversation. But she wasn’t prepared to sit in silence. On her 600 mile ride she realised if anything was going to change it had to come from people power. Not a Hero’s Journey is a powerful film about modern protest and is a must watch for those in the adventure community and beyond.” - Jenny Graham.
In 2021, Jessie Stevens cycled from her home on the south coast of Devon to Glasgow for COP26, building a diverse community of climate advocates along the way. The Alpkit Foundation was delighted to add support to Jessies ride, as you can read here. So it’s wonderful to now see this journey reflected in a film - Not A Hero’s Journey.
Jessie sums up the film.
“This film is about the climate emergency, hope and the joy of bikes. It’s about snacks, conversations and adventure. But most importantly, it’s about the power of community action as a force for change.”
Premiering at Kendal Mountain Festival it won the Best Environment Film award and highlighted the important and valuable support she received along the route from those as passionate about the power of cycling and climate issues. Resonating with communities far and wide where it garnered national interest from the mainstream media.
Not a Hero's Journey is a feature-length film documenting Jessie's journey and features the diverse,
climate-conscious community that made the journey and its' messaging so powerful. What’s even better is that it has now been publicly released on YouTube over on the new Alt. Film House channel.
It’s a sentiment shared by many, as Catherine Dunn, Director and Co-Producer of the film explains and why it made the film so special.
“There's a lot of adventure films out there which adopt the typical 'hero's journey' narrative - where the protagonist overcomes some kind of challenge and their story ultimately reaches a heroic
conclusion. But that's not real life and it certainly doesn't reflect how humans deal with the intense emotions the climate crisis can evoke. Not a Hero's Journey is a film which challenges typical
adventurous narratives and demonstrates how community can be a powerful tool for action. No single person can solve the climate crisis, but together we have power.”
All images courtesy of James Robertson - @jprobertson
Follow @_catherine_dunn and @jessie__stevens