Fern Carmichael This documentary has a very long and slow beginning and took a fair bit to get into the documentary but the overall quality of this film is great. It's heart warming and very educational. It really makes you think about how little people care about forests and it's inhabitance. The story of these 15 young people in the jungles of Borneo for 100 days is very inspiring and interesting. First watching this I did not think it would be a topic i'd get into but later finishing it opened my mind up. The documentary makes the audience want to speak up and do something about the global challenges we face. I recommend anyone looking to become educated on the topic or those interested in global challenges to watch this documentary.

Phebe Rowland "Rise of the Eco Warriors" offers a unique way of viewing the deforestation issue in Borneo which is a current and very pressing issue. The whole project as well as the film is quite technology-oriented, which resonates well with or engages a contemporary audience. The structure of the documentary is admirable, as each member of the audience feels as if they are being taken on a journey with the young crusaders and is connected on a level that they share their wins and their losses, their celebration but also their anguish. For this reason,"Rise of the Eco Warriors" is a very moving and evocative film.The producer offers a preempted but proactive perception of the problem (deforestation in the Borneo rainforest) and, in this context, spreads awareness of the alarming statistics and the state of the environment over there, whilst giving the story momentum: There is action. There is change. There is a call to action, providing the audience with methods to become a part of the movement and ultimately the solution.I found the film extremely moving and empowering. No really! I cried during the film and then left the cinema with a strong sense of stewardship and an eagerness to help the environment (especially the situation in Borneo) that couldn't be suppressed. In short, this film will make you care, by lifting the wool from over your eyes and giving you a useful insight into the current state of the environment and how you personally can help. Every action counts! I cannot recommend this film enough and I believe that if you miss out on seeing it during its short seasons in cinemas around the world, you are missing out on an amazing opportunity that could see you become a better and more responsible citizen in our global community.Simply incredible!

Savannah Pingol I had watched the trailer online and briefly read about the film on the website before watching Rise of the Eco-Warriors, but nothing could prepare me for the magnitude of the issue occurring in Borneo and the incredible journey that the 15/11 young people embarked on to achieve whatever was humanly possible in 100 days.As a young Australian, I feel that we are not exposed enough to the real global issues that will pose additional threats to the world that our children and grandchildren will have to inhabit. This film is a perfect example of the type of content, style and combination of characters to be shown in schools around the world to inspire young people to act.The threat to Borneo's forests, people and wildlife is the growing expansion of the palm oil industry, resulting in illegal deforestation to make way for the plants that are used in many daily household products. The effects of this activity is disastrous: locals' land is being cleared without permission, they aren't able to compete with the huge companies to sustain their previous income, and animals are being forced out of their natural habitat.In the first Act, the 15 eco-warriors travel to Borneo and spend 20 days getting a first hand experience on the ground to fathom the extent of destruction occurring in this area, and then form groups to focus on four key areas to stop the palm oil companies and to heal the local community.5 months on, 11 of the eco-warriors return and face the problem of raising the sufficient funds needed to implement their projects. After a lot of helpful advice from the great Dr Willie Smits and some touching experiences with the local people, the team pull together to build the foundations of an initiative that can progress after the eco-warriors departure.The film has an appropriate balance of tension, realisations, peaks and confrontations to construct a documentary that is both moving and motivating. And of course whenever an orangutan is featured there is no doubt that a tear will sneak up to your eye. After watching this film I feel empowered to help this cause and bring my power to save these people and animals. The sheer ignorance of these huge palm oil companies is unruly and their actions need to be stopped.I highly recommend this film because it allows a raw insight into one of the many world issues that are affecting innocent communities today, and there is no doubt that the young eco-warriors that chose to lead the project are committed, passionate and driven, which ignites the fire in all of us.

Jenna T I have nothing good to say about this film. If you want to watch a bunch of ignorant kids traipse around the bush in Borneo, windging about about how hard life is while simultaneously overstating and over hyping up their impact and ability then this is the film for you. It took everything I had not to leave the theatre when I saw this film. I remained for each painful minute in hopes that at any point these kids would actually take some real action. Needless to say – the film never delivered and dragged on forever. This film loses a vital chance to truly explore and examine the realities surrounding palm oil plantations in Borneo. Instead of discussing the gravity of orang-utan displacement, the rate of deforestation, or exploring local resistance in depth the film chooses to take a real world/big brother reality type approach to a bunch of kids who are totally oblivious about how to make any substantial change. I am not sure these kids actually did anything other than boost their egos, take credit for local/already existing initiatives, or overplay their importance. I think the villages they visited would have been better off if all the people partaking cashed in their pay checks and just handed over the money to the community. I feel completely misled by the title of the film 'Rise of the Eco-Warriors" which suggests that the characters may at some point do something eco-warrior-esque. I was utterly offended that the only time the term eco-warrior was relevant was during the many occasions that the cast chose to proclaim themselves eco-warriors and even came up with a hip gang sign for all the kids to use. It is hard to believe the way in which this film attempts to define activism and direct action. To all the real activists out there please do not waste your money on this film. The film would have been better if it chose to impassion it's audience to take a stand by hitting us with solid and strong evidence, more facts, and some intense footage of the actual reality in Borneo. At no point do we witness anyone filming the actual destruction of a forest even though time and time again we are reminded that it is going on. The audience is exposed only to a few orang-utans who have been displaced - but most of them are from homes where people had them as pets. At no point do the film makers get into the heart of the forest and truly expose the raw and dramatic reality. Perhaps this is due to the budgetary issues of the film - but to me it just comes off as lazy and easy camera work. The film could have easily used the cast as a back story to the major issues and highlighted their projects as small solutions to the major problems instead of making them the centre of the film.