03/07/2026
GRADUATION SERIES 2026 part two | Lena Grøtting (Transformation Design)
In this year’s graduation series, we highlight the journeys of 15 BA students as they move through the early stages of their graduation projects and begin preparing for what’s next.
Read Lena’s graduation project update below and check out the interview about her first steps on our website, link in bio.
“Hi! I am Lena and my graduation documentary ‘How To Sue A Climate Criminal’ talks about using the law to advance climate justice.
Much of my time these past months went into accumulating knowledge on climate law and litigation (highly recommend the ‘Heat & Hope’ podcast by the Universiteit van Amsterdam). Starting my research, I felt pessimistic about the value of the law, seeing to how powerful world leaders follow international law at their own convenience.
The more I learned about climate law, the more I realized how rapidly the field is evolving and how climate cases are shaping local climate policies. Hearing about the people suing their governments for not taking enough climate action, companies for greenwashing or polluting, or landowners for cutting down the Amazon rainforest instilled hope in me. I like to believe that we are not completely doomed, that there are many lives to be saved, if we rapidly take action (e.g. phase out fossil fuels).
Reaching out to people working in the field was a key step that would bring my project forward a lot, but which I procrastinated on doing for months, out of fear of receiving only rejections. Finally, four lawyers agreed to share their knowledge and experiences with me in a filmed interview.
From there, it was just conducting the interviews, editing, animating, and contacting the singer and songwriter Nadine Rypkema, who has made a beautiful song for the film.
I am immensely grateful for the engaging conversations I got to have, thanks to this project, with deeply caring and hard-working people from across the planet working on issues of climate justice.
If you have questions about the film, graduation generally, or would like to collaborate, feel free to reach out to me ;)”
