Basia Myszynski has thought about how carbon is a building block of life and the nurturing quality of motherhood for a long time. In her and Leonard Myszynski’s new documentary film, Women in Carbon, this relationship is explored through the stories of women scientists, architects, and engineers working in the carbon industry and advancing a better future for the next generation.
“I had an idea of how to approach this kind of film, and that was to try and take the idea of motherhood and see how that impacts climate change and the intergenerational bonds,” Basia Myszynski told AN.
The Myszynskis’ film tells an American story. It tours the U.S. visiting the recently expanded Portland International Airport by ZGF, corporate headquarters where carbon discourse has weaved its way into day-to-day business operations, and checks in at manufacturing plants where local materials are patenting an alternative future.
Women in Carbon showcases innovative new practices and products, among these an electrical chemical system for making cement, and using bacteria and algae as a binder instead of toxic plastics. The experts interviewed and profiled in the documentary include connections the Myszynskis had from past work and those individuals’ professional networks; others were found through research into the women “doing the most” to lead the charge to combat climate change.
In an interview with AN, Basia Myszynski, was quick to add that men are working in the industry too. “But there’s just this thing about women, back to that carbon thing, bonds and all that,” she said. “I don’t know what the urgency is, what I think is that they’re thinking about the kids.”
The documentary hears from Stacy Smedley who knew from a young age she needed to work in the building industry. In a recent panel discussion about the film, Smedley shared a poignant anecdote of her 10-year-old-self watching a forest get cut down near her family’s property. She has since gone on to help found and develop Building Transparency and the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3).
Myszynski’s film also shares the important work of Mija Hubler, a Boulder, Colorado–based researcher and professor working on algae-based alternatives to plastics. Myszynski recalled in an interview that Hubler believed so deeply in the importance of her research work that when the film crew arrived amid a call for an evacuation due to fires in the region, Hubler led the crew through the facility at the University and then “took off” to bring her family to safety.
Other faces on screen include ZGF architect Rena Simon; architect and mass timber expert Susan Jones; as well as Leah Ellis, CEO of Sublime Systems, a company that manufactures a carbon-neutral cement. Today, Ellis is also active in policy work. Climate change and carbon reduction are issues often tied up in politics, even hindered by it at times.
Several of the featured women shared fears for the future, even getting emotional on camera over the thought of it. The story depicted in the film is still one of ringing optimism where a continued push, even at a community level, can make a world of difference.
“The thing I’ve noticed about all these people, including the men that they work with, is the compassion. You can’t be into gender equity, you can’t be into the environment without that,” Myszynski said.
A screening of Women in Carbon will take place in New York City on September 24 at New World Stages NYC and in Seattle at the University of Washington on October 16.
