Green Film Fest
Can cinema raise environmental awareness?
The ninth edition of the International Environmental Film Festival was held from 30 August to 5 September in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The Green Film Fest originally appeared to raise awareness over environmental issues through the seventh art. The event also has its own space in San Francisco (USA): it will be returning for the eighth consecutive year from 6 to 13 September.
In 2007 the film starring and directed by Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, was a success at the box office and won the Oscar for best documentary. This production marked the starting point of a phenomenon, namely that of environmental protest movies. These have reached the mainstream outlets and can therefore no longer be seen as a minority genre. The Green Film Fest is another example of this.
The Green Film Fest
External link, opens in new window. is the world's number one international environmental film festival, not only because of the quality of the movies shown, but also due to the activities featured. Thanks to the backing of more than 60 social and governmental organisations, all of them committed to sustainability and environmental protection, every year a selection of films and/or documentaries is screened that emphasise the change of social awareness required to achieve a better planet for us all.
In San Francisco External link, opens in new window., the festival lines up with different organisations to hold the Global Climate Action Summit, which is held from 12 to 14 September and which gathers world leaders in support of the historic Paris Agreement.
WHICH FILMS ARE BEING SHOWN AT THE GREEN FILM FEST?
This international film festival shows movies and documentaries that tackle all kinds of environmental problems, with priority being given to the following subject areas:
- Sustainable construction
- Wildlife conservation
- Organic agriculture
- Clean energies
- Mass migrations
Program of the eighth edition of the Green Film Fest San Francisco 2018 [PDF]
MAIN RELATED ACTIVITIES
The Green Film Fest offers so much more than just cinema. Its venues also provide the chance to practice different activities totally aligned with the viewing material, such as ecology-related round tables, photographic exhibitions, practical workshops and discussions with the directors.
Furthermore, and since 2011, the event has featured the Green Film Fest Seedbed, namely a national competition of short films on environmental topics. Its main aim is to encourage creativity and support and promote the independent nationwide production of environmentally based audiovisual projects.
What's more, the Green Film Fest measures its carbon footprint and performs different environmental impact mitigation and compensation actions via the Compensa initiative. What's the idea? That, once the festival is over, no visible sign that it ever took place is left behind.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
The Green Film Fest is not a one-off initiative. All over the world the following exhibition, training and audiovisual outreach events based on environmental topics are also making their presence felt. Listed below are the most noteworthy:
- FICMA External link, opens in new window.: the Barcelona International Environmental Film Festival is one of the longest running in Spain. First held in 2009, it has now spread to Mexico.
- FICA: the International Environmental Film and Video Festival of Brazil started out in 1999 and held its 20th edition from 5 to 10 June 2018 in the city of Goias.
- Environmental Film Festival External link, opens in new window.: every year, this Environmental Film Festival held in Washington DC (USA) presents more than 100 films. The 2019 edition will be held from 14 to 24 March.
