In the first days of Greta ThunbergB次元官网网址檚 solitary sidewalk protest outside Swedish Parliament in August 2018, most walk right past her. Some pause and ask why sheB次元官网网址檚 not in school. But people steadily begin to take notice of the steadfast 16-year-old girl.

Those humble beginnings of ThunbergB次元官网网址檚 protest B次元官网网址� the unlikely birth of a global movement B次元官网网址� are seen in the opening minutes of the new documentary B次元官网网址淚 Am Greta.B次元官网网址� Since then, Thunberg has met world leaders, been vilified by others, and seen countless join her in an ever-growing resistance to environmental complacency. ItB次元官网网址檚 a journey she readily describes as totally surreal B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like living in a movie and you donB次元官网网址檛 know the plot,B次元官网网址� she says B次元官网网址� but also affirming.

B次元官网网址淚 look back and I remember how it felt. I think: Oh, I was so young and naive back then B次元官网网址� which is quite funny,B次元官网网址� says Thunberg, recalling her first days of protest in an interview. B次元官网网址淪o much has changed for me since then but also so much hasnB次元官网网址檛 changed from the bigger perspective.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 feel like now IB次元官网网址檓 happier in my life,B次元官网网址� she adds. B次元官网网址淲hen you do something thatB次元官网网址檚 meaningful, it gives you the feeling that youB次元官网网址檙e meaningful.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 Am Greta,B次元官网网址� which debuts Friday on Hulu, is the first documentary to chart the meteoric rise of Thunberg from an anonymous, uncertain teen to an international activist. As an intimate chronicle of a singular figure, it plays like a coming-of-age story for someone who seemed, from the start, uncannily of age. The film, directed by Nathan Grossman, captures the head-spinning accomplishments, and the toll they sometimes take, on the bluntly impassioned Thunberg.

For an activist who insists on putting the cause before herself, itB次元官网网址檚 also a somewhat uncomfortable acceptance of the spotlight. B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 really achieved anything,B次元官网网址� Thunberg says, speaking by phone from Sweden. B次元官网网址淓verything the movement has achieved.B次元官网网址�

She doesnB次元官网网址檛 endorse everything about the documentary. It should come as no surprise that Thunberg, who has called her AspergerB次元官网网址檚 syndrome her B次元官网网址渟uperpowerB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a condition she believes only enhances her ability to be straightforward and focused B次元官网网址� has a few notes.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 really like the title of the film, B次元官网网址業 Am Greta.B次元官网网址� It makes it seem like I take myself very seriously,B次元官网网址� says Thunberg. (In Sweden, the film is simply called B次元官网网址淕reta,B次元官网网址� but that title was recently taken by the 2018 Isabelle Huppert film.) B次元官网网址淎lso the poster. I look like I have make-up on. I donB次元官网网址檛 like the poster and the title.B次元官网网址�

Grossman began filming Thunberg soon after she began protesting in August 2018, but he didnB次元官网网址檛 expect much from it. He told Thunberg he might not stick around for more than a few hours. He shot in half-resolution to save memory cards.

But as time went on, and young people around the world began following ThunbergB次元官网网址檚 lead, Grossman realized he had unwittingly captured the first moments of an unfolding zeitgeist. The project evolved and Grossman continued to shadow Thunberg up to her scorching speech at the United Nations in which she admonished world leaders: B次元官网网址淲e are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪he felt that a movie about her could help clarify things,B次元官网网址� says Grossman. B次元官网网址淚n the media, I think, she hasnB次元官网网址檛 felt that she recognized herself. The one-dimensional character of Greta is a very angry, frustrated girl. In the movie, you see so much more B次元官网网址� that sheB次元官网网址檚 also funny and has different sides.B次元官网网址�

Part of the power of Thunberg is that, as a 17-year-old, she literally embodies a future imperiled by the inaction of older generations. B次元官网网址淚 Am GretaB次元官网网址� is in a way a profile of generational divide, where adults and politicians line up to take selfies with a young woman who despite her stature sometimes struggles to get out of bed for an appointment or cries for home while sailing across the Atlantic.

But if Thunberg, Time magazineB次元官网网址檚 Person of the Year in 2019, is recognizably human in B次元官网网址淚 Am Greta,B次元官网网址� sheB次元官网网址檚 also ruthlessly frank. She doesnB次元官网网址檛 mince words on EarthB次元官网网址檚 trajectory. She dismisses superficial gestures for change. And she shrugs off those who dismiss or mock her message. Asked how she felt watching news clips of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin deriding her in the film, Thunberg laughs.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 one of the highlights! ItB次元官网网址檚 hysterically funny,B次元官网网址� Thunberg says. B次元官网网址淚t just proves that youB次元官网网址檙e doing something right. If youB次元官网网址檙e being attacked by these kinds of people that shows youB次元官网网址檙e doing something right. It just shows how desperate they are not to talk about the climate.B次元官网网址�

During the pandemic, Thunberg has seen climate slip from front pages. But she wishes the climate could generate the same level of alarm that COVID-19 has. B次元官网网址淚t feels like weB次元官网网址檙e stuck no matter what we do,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淲e wonB次元官网网址檛 achieve real change unless we actually start to treat the climate crisis like a crisis.B次元官网网址�

In September, Thunberg was again outside Swedish Parliament for a socially distanced climate protest, part of thousands of school strikes held that day. But watching the U.S. presidential debates, where climate was a little-discussed issue and summarily dismissed by Trump, she says, has been eye-opening.

B次元官网网址淚t surprises me. I knew the situation in the U.S. was bad when it comes to climate, that itB次元官网网址檚 being treated as an opinion rather than actual scientific fact, but I didnB次元官网网址檛 know it was this bad,B次元官网网址� says Thunberg. B次元官网网址淓urope and Sweden, we are very, very far from where we need to be in the discussion. But compared to the U.S., itB次元官网网址檚 just surprising.B次元官网网址�

Earlier this fall, Thunberg returned to school after taking a year off.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e missed it a lot. It just feels very good to be back in school and to do normal things, to have routines. I love routines B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 probably a lot because of my autism,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淎nd in this environment, IB次元官网网址檓 almost anonymous in a way. People know who I am, of course, but IB次元官网网址檓 not there because IB次元官网网址檓 famous. IB次元官网网址檓 there to do something else, IB次元官网网址檓 just like the rest.B次元官网网址�

Anonymity might no longer be a long-term option for Thunberg, who will turn 18 in January. But itB次元官网网址檚 a tradeoff she will make. When she reflects on the last two years, she sounds dangerously close to being something few would label Thunberg: an optimist.

B次元官网网址淏efore I started doing this, my experience was that no one cared. Now IB次元官网网址檝e been proven wrong. Obviously, many people, especially young people, care about the climate crisis and the future, and thatB次元官网网址檚 encouraging,B次元官网网址� says Thunberg. B次元官网网址淗umanity has not yet failed. We are failing, but humanity has not failed.B次元官网网址�

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press

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