Future Blue Youth Council Member, Malika Gizzat, Uses Filmmaking as a Tool for Creative Advocacy
August 24, 2023By Jayashabari Shankar, 2023 Future Blue Youth Council member
In her captivating video 73 Questions with Linda Cabot, filmmaker, artist, and Future Blue Youth Council member Malika Gizzat showcases her remarkable talent for crafting thought-provoking inquiries. In the video, Malika interviews Founder and President of Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, Linda Cabot, and asks her 73 unique questions. It’s true to the style of Vogue’s 73-question celebrity interviews, wherein an interviewer interviews a celebrity with a set of 73 predetermined questions.
Reflecting on her creative process and how she managed to find 73 insightful questions, Malika humbly acknowledges that the success of the video was owed in large part to Linda’s genuine and thorough responses. She expresses gratitude for Linda’s unwavering dedication to her work in environmental advocacy. Malika’s video offers a framework to introduce audiences to the various programs offered by Bow Seat, encouraging participation, and fosters a deeper understanding of Linda’s remarkable journey.
Moreover, the video allows one to better understand Bow Seat’s mission: the power of converging art with environmentalism. It is a concept that resonates deeply with Malika. In contemplating the role of art, especially filmmaking, in the realm of environmental advocacy, she believes in its ability to transcend language barriers and touch the very core of human emotions. She calls it “filmmaking without borders,” and it is an apt term because films and pictures possess the unique power to communicate complex environmental challenges in a way that resonates universally.
Malika first realized this connection between art and environmentalism while participating in Bow Seat’s Ocean Awareness Contest in 2021 as she skillfully combined hand-drawn cartoons, stop-motion techniques, and narration to create a poignant film on water scarcity during the quarantine. This immersive experience opened her eyes to the vast potential of filmmaking as a means of advocating for the environment. Motivated by this newfound passion, Malika delved deeper into the world of “ARTivism,” taking on video editing projects for friends, participating in contests, and contributing to various organizations’ social media platforms. That’s one of the reasons why she was so excited to create this video with Linda as a Future Blue Youth Council member: to show viewers what she has learned and what Bow Seat advocates for through its programs.
In one particularly coincidental moment, Malika discovered a shared love for the song “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye, as Linda mentioned it as one of her favorites. This connection between the two artists, brought together by their appreciation for music, solidifies the importance of art as a universal language that transcends borders (for context, Linda is from Massachusetts, USA, and Malika is from Kazakhstan).
As the interview started to conclude, Malika encouraged today’s youth to act on their ideas, and not be afraid to try to combine their passions towards any global issue they deeply care about. Indeed, as the world continues to grapple with pressing ecological issues, Malika’s narrative resonates, urging us all to embrace the profound impact that art and humanities can have in shaping a sustainable future.