U.S. Film Premiere of "What is Owed" and a Panel on Law, Technology and Climate Justice Following the International Court of Justice’s Historic Climate Case
October 23rd 2025Thursday, October 23 | 6:30pm Doors; Event starts at 7:00pm (EST
This is an in-person event at the historic Firehouse Cinema located at the Downtown Community TV Center (DCTV) on 87 Lafayette St., New York City, 10013. This event is open to the public.
Please note, tickets are offered here, via a sliding scale.
In July of 2025, the International Court of Justice released its historic advisory opinion on states’ legal obligations to address climate change—marking a pivotal moment for the global climate justice movement. This event brings together key voices to examine what the opinion means, what it leaves unanswered, and what it signals—especially within the context of colonial legacies and U.S. militarism.
The program begins with a screening of What is Owed: Taking the Climate Crisis to the World’s Court, a short film created in response to the case and developed in collaboration with those who were instrumental in bringing it forward—namely the youth-led campaign spearheaded by Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), and the Government of Vanuatu’s leadership at the United Nations.
A panel will follow featuring Vishal Prasad, Campaign Director of Pacific Island Youth Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), joining remotely from Fiji; a representative from the Government of Vanuatu; Brad Samuels of SITU Research; Anjli Parrin of the University of Chicago’s Global Human Rights Clinic; and filmmaker Suneil Sanzgiri. Together, the panel will discuss the legal and political implications of the advisory opinion and consider how bridging advocacy, law, technology, and spatial practice can address climate harms at scale—demonstrating the potential of integrated, cross-disciplinary approaches as tools for accountability and redress within legal frameworks and broader climate justice movements.
For more information about the program and accessibility at DCTV, please visit their website here.
