In 2021, Bohemians became the first football club in the world to initiate a strand of work on climate justice. Their project, The Bohemian Way, is one of Creative Ireland’s 15 innovative Creative Climate Action projects. Taking place from September 8th-11th, Bohemians are partnering with the Oatly Climate/Culture Lab to debut this unique outdoor festival.

Communities and environmental crises

BEFF is set to be the first festival focused on the stories of people and communities on the front lines of the fight against environmental catastrophe. With an increasing awareness of the intersection between people’s lives and the consequences of environmental breakdown, filmmakers worldwide are telling the story of struggle and survival in the face of converging environmental crises.

Prior to now, there has been no signature festival focused on platforming and celebrating these films of courage, solidarity, hope and anguish in the age of the Anthropocene and biodiversity collapse. 

Sponsored by Oatly, and enabled by Irish event management company Happenings, the festival will bring together Irish and international filmmakers, storytellers, activists, and decision-makers for a special weekend of screenings and events that will advance our understanding of the environmental injustices faced by communities in Ireland and worldwide, and the prospects for reparation. The festival is part of the Bohemian Way, Bohemians’ Creative Ireland-funded Creative Climate Action project.

Bohemians’ climate justice efforts aim to bring vital messages about climate change and climate action to football fans and the broader community in an engaging and empowering manner. 

More than a game

An international community element will be fostered too as Bohemians welcome European football clubs to the film festival as a new climate justice project gets underway. Bohemian FC worked with the European Football for Development network to develop the Erasmus+Sport project which will explore what clubs can do to reduce their own environmental footprint and support their fans and communities in the climate transition. 

Speaking about the festival, Bohemian’s Climate Justice Officer Seán McCabe said: 

“We began working on climate justice at Bohemian Football Club because we recognised that the climate crisis was the single greatest challenge facing our fans, our community, and the world today. We also realise that both the impacts and the societal changes necessary to avoid the crisis come with risks of hardship and injustice for people living in situations of poverty or marginalisation. The world is waking up to the need to act on the climate crisis but there is still a lack of understanding as to the central importance of fairness and justice in delivering effective solutions.”