Farewell Falsterbo
A futurewalk set in Skanör-Falsterbo
The year is 2072, and the worst storm in two hundred years is about to hit Scania, in the south of Sweden. In Skanör-Falsterbo, a family is celebrating Christmas when the storm alarm sounds. The waves draw closer to the house, and the family dash towards the nearby church. What happens next is the result of many decades of decisions: did we work together, or did the lines of conflict become even deeper? That’s up to you to decide.
Climate change requires us to make a lot of difficult choices as a society, and we can put things in perspective by telling this story. What’s worth protecting, and at what cost? How do we alleviate death and suffering during the climate crisis? What impact will our decisions have on people and the environment? Both emissions reduction and adaptation to climate change are moving too slowly, and we’re confident that stories like Farewell Falsterbo can engage people, educate them and encourage discussion.
What is the story about?
The Farewell Falsterbo soundwalk introduces us to teenager Robin in 2100, who’ll be doing a school project about the Year of the Storm back in 2072. She knows nothing about the storm, because her family just don’t talk about it: her grandfather and his sister are still arguing about who’s to blame for what. But as we listen to interviews with relatives and visit Skanör, we follow Robin as she finds out what really happened that night, and what it’s like to be isolated on a peninsula in the middle of a storm. Along the way, we learn about different ways to adapt society and help reduce the damage caused by climate change.
What kind of future does the listener encounter?
There are an infinite number of possible futures, and every decision we make today affects the future to come. The listener chooses between two possible futures in Farewell Falsterbo. One involves cooperation, compromise and a high regard for nature and human life. In the other, today’s lines of conflict have become even deeper, resulting in inadequate climate policies. Both stories have the same main characters, but the endings are dramatically different. Farewell Falsterbo isn’t a forecast, it’s an engaging tale where listeners can experience the effects of climate change—and they have to decide whether the methods, solutions and speed are desirable.
How does the soundwalk work?
Farewell Falsterbo comes in several versions. It’s available in Swedish and English, and you can listen to it either in Skanör or on any beach of your choice. It’s best to listen to the story by the sea, but of course you can listen from home as well. You use your own mobile phone and headphones to listen to it. It can be found in the Climaginaries app. This app is free to download, and it’s available for both Android and iPhone. Make sure your phone is fully charged, put on some comfortable shoes and then head just north of Skanör Harbor (or any other starting point on a beach) where the story begins.
Soundwalk
In a soundwalk, you're smartphone is both narrator and guide. Through gps, the story moves forward as you move between locations.
The project group consists of Johannes Stripple, Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson, Ruben Ritzén and Emma Hansen from the Department of Political Science at Lund University and Fredrik Pålsson from Umami Productions/Hi-Story. The project is financed by Formas, a government research council for sustainable development, and LU Futura at Lund University
Credits
Idea and worldbuilding: Johannes Stripple, Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson, Ruben Ritzén, Emma Hansen och Fredrik Pålsson.
Script: Fredrik Pålsson
Voicedirector: Astrid Mohlin
Sound design and music: Sofia Chanfreau
Cover art: Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson
Actors:
Robin: Elle Kari Bergenrud
Noa: Tom Ahlsell
Alice: Li Brådhe
Tove: Susanne Karlsson
Student 1: Emmy Minssen
Student 2: Emil Walter
Student 3: Tim Håkansson
Speaker: Fredrik Pålsson
How speculative is the story?
Click here to access our Ministry of Imagination where we've collected background research and further reading on some of the topics covered in Farewell Falsterbo.
Get in touch
Johannes Stripple, Department of Political Science
johannes [dot] stripple [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se
Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson, Department of Political Science
ludwig [dot] bengtsson_sonesson [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se
Fredrik Pålsson, Umami Produktion/Hi-Story
fredrik [at] umamiproduktion [dot] se