XR is planning its next action for September 10. British-born Kenworthy says the group has begun to make that connection.

“That discussion was always happening on the inside, it’s just how public facing are you with it? They were concerned about it alienating certain people, but then of course you end up alienating other people.

“[But] it’s important to remember Extinction Rebellion is not the whole climate movement; it’s much bigger than that.”

Rebellion also follows the extraordinary transition of environmental lawyer and diplomat Farhana Yamin from being unsure about taking part in Extinction Rebellion protests to supergluing her hands to the Shell headquarters in London. She has since left the group to forge a new coalition to demand climate justice.

Hallam and Lovelock have each left XR, too, and have found a rapprochement in their father-daughter relationship, even though their styles of activism are remarkably different.

Hallam is accused by numerous other XR members of “blind fanaticism about disruption”, including his thwarted plan to fly drones over Heathrow airport’s exclusion zone. “If you’re not in prison, you’re not in resistance … you keep going until you’re banged up, or you’re dead,” says Hallam.

Lovelock, meanwhile, confides to the filmmakers about her burnout – a plight that has inflicted many climate activists, particularly the young.

“We had some moments when [XR] people would [say], ‘Hang on, why are you filming this?’” says Kenworthy.

“As soon as people realised, ‘Oh, they’re not trying to get a quick story, leak this to the press, whatever, they’re genuinely just trying to document what’s happening and are interested’, they were fine with us capturing it all.”

Can XR be credited for the British Parliament legislating for net zero emissions by 2050?

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“Definitely,” says Kenworthy. “Farhana, who’s been close to the climate change process for years, being part of the United Nations, strongly feels Extinction Rebellion and civil disobedience cast this issue into public consciousness, letting the Prime Minister know this was an important matter people care about. It was a big catalyst in finally making it happen.”

XR co-founder Gail Bradbrook is still awaiting trial over allegedly smashing a plate-glass window in a government building in Westminster during a 2019 protest. “She’s definitely facing prison time,” says Bellot.

The British Parliament this year passed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, imposing tougher penalties for such disruptions designed to impact on the economy. Kenworthy and Bellot say the law is undemocratic.

“To the general public, the [new law] often gets sold to as a way of dealing with groups like XR,” says Bellot.

“But actually, the police already have laws in place to deal with groups like XR … The [government] is using [XR] as an excuse to massively expand police powers. People need to realise that, even if they’re not on the street breaking the law, it’s going to affect them.”

Rebellion screens at the Castlemaine Documentary Festival on July 3.

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