Future Council was released theatrically by Madman on 7 August 2025, preceded by a national Q&A screening tour with Damon, Ruby and over a hundred special guest speakers. The tour visited 30+ cinemas nationally, after which the film was released on nearly 100 screens. The Q&A screenings were packed with families and guest speakers included an array of impressive young leaders doing incredible work in their local communities. Over 150 young people have now officially joined the Future Council as signed up members.
Our non-theatrical screenings program commenced on 1 October and we are currently in the process of booking in over 300 screening requests received to date.
This year, Damon has also presented the Future Council impact vision at various donor and stakeholder preview screenings, including a private preview for the Abundium business network, keynote speaker at NEXUS Australia’s conference in Melbourne and NEXUS Global’s NYC conference, as well as presenting screenings and hosting co-design at various schools including Oxley College (NSW), Byron Bay High (NSW), Saint Ignatius College (SA), Woodleigh School (VIC) and Kelvin Grove College (QLD)
Damon, Ruby, Hiva and Joseph were invited to be part of TEdX in Sydney in early May. Where they were joined by the Head of Global Sourcing and Quality at Officeworks to discuss our partnership. In addition to participating in the panel, Ruby, performed her single “Hits the Heart”. TedX was attended by 1,000+ people with the event generating significant interest.
In early June we held two online teacher preview screenings with over 200 educators attending. Cast member, Skye and Damon participated in an engaged Q&A session, alongside a representative from Cool.org. We then hosted an educator consultation with 30 teachers and educators to gain insights into how the Future Council could be embedded into their school communities and how to address potential barriers. These insights have informed development of our School Action Toolkit and a ‘How to set up a Future Council in your school’ resource for young people and their parents.
The first four lesson plans (aligned to school curriculum) have been developed with Cool.org and are now available on their website and via the Regen Learning Hub (https://learn.theregenerators.org/).
The first four lessons cover:
– Our place in the world – exploring humans’ disconnection and reconnection to nature.
– Shaping the future together – focus on youth-led governance and leadership
– Exploring the systems we live in – how do we ’tame Groth’ and begin to economically grow with wisdom?
– Nurturing future leaders – how students might navigate eco anxiety and grief in relation to the state of the world.
The Future Council platform/website was launched in July to coincide with release of the film in Australia. Developed by Shapeable AI. The platform (https://futurecouncil.global/) enables membership and community building, hosts regular member meet-ups and provides members with access to trusted information on sustainability and key environmental issues.
The Future Council entity has now been incorporated with applications for DGR status pending. The purpose of the entity is to house and grow the Future Council movement by empowering young voices to have a say in the design of their future.
Damon continues to advocate for a strong financial foundation for the entity including attending and presenting at the NEXUS Global Summit in NYC (late June). NEXUS exists to unite next gen philanthropists, impact investors and social entrepreneurs to bring about the most promising global solutions of our generation
Despite its early beginnings, Future Council Entity has already attracted high profile partnerships including:
Hulsbosch, one of Australia’s leading strategic branding and design agencies, who is developing the Future Council brand and brand strategy pro bono. Hulsbosch clients include Qantas, Virgin Australia, Taronga Zoo Sydney and other internationally recognised brands.
Officeworks (Australia’s largest stationary retailer and part of Wesfarmers Group) is the first corporate partner in Australia. The core of this partnership is to run a “Co-design pilot” , where 40 children will collaborate with Officeworks to develop one or more high volume products. A percentage of proceeds from the sale of these products will be contributed to the Future Council’s Nature Repair Fund, with distributions to be voted on by the child members.
The film will be released in Europe early next year and we are currently focussed on building partnerships and securing funding to support the European roll-out. Damon and a number of cast members will be in the UK and Netherlands in November where the film is headlining the Into Film Festival, a national film festival for schools across the UK.
