Everything Wrong and Nowhere To Go

For filmmaker Sindha Agha, it’s the same pattern year after year: the arrival of fire season in Southern California triggers a revolving cycle of nightmares about a whole host of natural disasters – floods, flames, drought, storms. Then there’s the weekly cry about ecological destruction and lungs full of wildfire smoke, followed by an overwhelming sense of misanthropy and subsequent self-loathing. Arguably the most disturbing part of the pattern comes at the end, as the fires begin their annual reprieve they trigger a sense of cognitive dissonance.

Whether it’s excruciating grief, overwhelming anxiety, or delusional detachment — climate change poses a real threat to our minds. But equally consequential is the threat our minds pose to climate change. How can we find a space of emotional balance, where we can stay attentive to this crisis without becoming debilitated by it? Sindha Agha doesn’t have the answers. But thankfully, much more qualified people are digging deep to develop tools for emotional resilience in the age of climate change. Agha dives into the field of “climate psychology,” signing herself up for therapy with prominent eco-therapist Leslie Davenport, documenting their sessions together and chronicling her own unfolding exploration of climate change and emotional interiority.

Everything Wrong and Nowhere to Go is a strikingly candid and comedic self-portrait, an emotional journey which weaves in and out of fear, helplessness, guilt, anger, and ultimately healing. Agha finds a place within herself to go when everything does indeed feel wrong, and forges a new vocabulary for talking about intractable threats and the burden they place on our minds as well as our planet.