LET’S ALL CLEAN UP OUR ACTS!By Mike Downey

CLOSE-UPISSUE 5 | WINTER 2019

There are various and varying levels of toxicity in the international film industry – some are in the process of being dealt with – others have barely begun to be taken seriously. The case in point that we are dealing with in this fifth issue of Close-Up is sustainability in the European film industry.

There are extraordinary levels of carbon and waste created by film production – at a rate that is escalating and must be halted.

A study by BAFTA estimated that a massive 13 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide is created per hour of broadcast material. Add to that the vast carbon footprint of the business travelling around the world year-round, meeting in the same familiar places, speaking about the same familiar things. So, surely there has to be a way of doing all this without damaging the planet any further.

In Europe especially we need to move towards the organisation of a pan-European industry-wide performance assessment that includes sustainable best practices from around the world that could provide consistency across film productions, as a way of cleaning up our act and moving towards a more green screen.

As members of the European Film Academy, we are particularly concerned for the environmental, economic, and social issues that come in the wake of production. Sustainability in film production must incorporate socially and environmentally responsible decision-making into the pre-production and production of films as well as involving sustainable development principles at all levels and fully depends on co-operation from all departments and/or participants in making a film.

Here at EFA, we are not innocents. As an institution we need to address all the travelling we do, on the endless roundabout of Cannes, Venice, Toronto, AFM, Sundance, Berlin – to name but a few, and last but not least to attend our very own annual EFA awards ceremony.

This year in Berlin, we have made the first steps to reduce the amounts of printed material created for the Awards – and for the first time, we are serving only vegetarian food at the after-show party. For the first time at the 2020 awards to be held in Reykjavik, in association with our local hosts, we will plant trees to the value of our carbon footprint and beyond. (Read more about Icelandic tree planting in our interview with Benedikt Erlingsson on page 2). We hope this is a tradition which will continue for years to come

These are baby steps, I know, but we have to start somewhere and we must begin to show by example. 

Should I be elected as chairman and continue my 16-year-long commitment to the board and membership, I hope that we can make this an annual contribution, and step up our efforts to green our increasingly dirty business.

These gestures, however, amount to a mere drip of a drop in the ocean, while our habits on set, in productions and from the top to the bottom of our vertically and horizontally integrated business in Europe and across the globe are barely improving year on year.

Therefore, this edition of Close-Up is not just taking sustainability as its theme, it is also an informal manifesto as to how we at the European Film Academy, and we hope, you, as the European film industry can engage to clean up our collective acts. Over-dependency on airlines, on plastics, on un-recyclable goods, a culture of waste in every department, dependency on vast amounts of consumables, the throwing away of vast amounts of food, the using of the wrong kind of wood … these are all sins of which every production – whether it be in Europe or China, California or Patagonia – is guilty of.

Come on. Greenshoot, the UK-based organisation created way back in 2009, recently points out that the average person going about their daily lives, eating, sleeping, getting about, generates about 7 tonnes of carbon a year. A single film technician typically generates up to 2.5 tonnes of carbon on an eight-week shoot, or 32 tonnes per year. Measure that exponentially on a cast and crew of up to 250 working on a large production, plus the whole supply chain supporting it, that makes for one helluva carbon footprint.

Enough is enough.

The time for change is upon us.

As European filmmakers, we very often perceive ourselves as outspoken progressives expressing a love for our planet and a disdain for those people who are polluting it beyond use for future generations. Well, the very act of film production, sales, marketing, distribution and all aspects of its international nature, are contributing vastly to climate change.

We need to wake up and start doing something about it instead of talking about it. There are plenty of concrete examples of how to make production and festivals more sustainable in this issue on pages 9 and 12. If we act together, we can be a huge force for change. But we must act collectively and fast.

We live in an age of choice. We surely can conceive of a time in the not too distant future, as our planet begins to fail, when people may choose to watch or not watch something based on whether it was made sustainably or not. Stranger things have happened.

Mike Downey is deputy chairman of the European Film Academy and founder and CEO of production company Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME).

Showing WOMAN AT WAR around the world, the writer/director noticed that in some places like the Nordics, “the film is preaching to the believers … this is a mainstream view.” Yet in America he could feel a difference in the audience: “they were far away from engaging in the political questions, they talked more about aesthetics.”

He had seen enough of the dystopian storytelling approach to the problems of sustainability, and said WOMAN AT WAR was “my attempt to do a happy, mainstream blockbuster film in the spirit of the solutions.” He says he now sees the character of Halla as the “little sister of Greta Thunberg, who is moving mountains.”

Since making WOMAN AT WAR, he has been busy working in theatre in Iceland, including the National Theatre’s premiere of supermarket-set comedy SUPER, written by comedian and former mayor Jon Gnarr. His next project will be a TV series called THE DANISH WOMAN, reuniting him with WOMAN AT WAR producers Leblanc and Slot.

Film Festival Forests

He shook up the industry in Karlovy Vary in July 2019 when he dared to give a speech about how unsustainable film festivals are. “We aren’t communicating, we don’t see the house is burning now, the film industry has to face this,” he says now of why he felt compelled to tackle the subject head-on.

“We are producing a lot of films, films are carbon-farting adventures. To cut down on that carbon farting, we should start giving prizes for sustainable films,” he adds.

“Film festivals are also carbon-farting adventures … Are there too many festivals? Can we change that or can we not change that? You have programmers and journalists and guests flying around the world for one interview or one Q&A that could be done on Facetime.“

“When we are talking about sustainability of filmmaking we have to talk about all this. We should plant festival forests,” he suggests as one action to help. He isn’t calling for a travel ban, but suggests if filmmakers have to travel, “to stay somewhere for longer … not just flying around every few days.”

He continues, “The scenario is so serious (that) if we end up with four degrees raised in average temperature that will mean 97% extinction of all life mass on Earth … If we don’t do anything there will be no film festivals.

BENEDIKT ERLINGSSON: “FILMS ARE CARBON-FARTING ADVENTURES”By Wendy Mitchell

Icelandic writer/director Benedikt Erlingsson spent the summer planting trees. Digging 100 holes and planting 100 trees himself, on Icelandic land owned by cinematographer Bergsteinn ‘Besti’ Björgúlfsson.

Erlingsson is planting those trees to balance out his own carbon footprint as a filmmaker, who has to take flights often to show and promote his work. It’s hardly possible to take a train from Iceland, after all.

“When I go on a flight to New York for six hours, this plane is farting on my behalf 600 kilos of carbon into the air. The flight back is another 600 kilos,” he explains. “Yes, this is a problem. Is there a solution? Yes, maybe one solution is to skip the trip.” But if that’s not possible, he likes to plant trees. “Trees are magical vacuum cleaners,” taking carbon dioxide from the air. As a storyteller he also likes the symbolism of the tree – “the tree of life, tree of knowledge, and the stone age was a tree age… oil and coal are old trees pressed together. Now we have to change them back to trees when we fart them into the air.”

His acclaimed second fiction feature, WOMAN AT WAR, had a climate crisis theme. It tells the story of 50-year-old Halla (played by Halldora Geirhardsdottir), who becomes an eco-warrior to protect the Icelandic highlands from industrial development. “When a child is not listened to it starts to scream. This is the premise of WOMAN AT WAR,” he says. The film premiered to rave reviews at Cannes Critics’ Week 2018 (where it won the SACD Screenwriting Award), won 10 Eddas in Iceland as well as the lucrative Nordic Council Film Prize, and saw Geirhardsdottir nominated for European Actress at the EFAs last year.

The production tried its best to be environmentally friendly, and to protect the highlands areas where they shot. “We were the carbon lightest production in Iceland at that time, but I don’t think we were perfect,” Erlingsson says. “We tried to be plastic free, we looked at other catering solutions, we took great care in sensitive areas with moss,” he explains.

Erlingsson worked with producers Carine Leblanc and Marianne Slot of France’s Slot Machine to contribute on the film’s behalf to Eden Reforestation Projects (edenprojects.org) for planting 10,000 trees at sensitive spots around the globe.

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY BENEDIKT ERLINGSSON 2

“WE ARE PRODUCING A LOT OF FILMS, FILMS ARE CARBON-FART-ING ADVENTURES. TO CUT DOWN ON THAT CARBON FARTING, WE SHOULD START GIVING PRIZES FOR SUSTAINABLE FILMS.” Benedikt Erlingsson

Personal Actions

Environmental activism has long been a passion for Erlingsson. When he was 18, he was part of a small group of Icelandic radicals who chained themselves to a whaling ship to protest industrial hunting of whales. “I don’t think it’s anything to brag about, people do much better and greater things,” he says now. “It was a piece of theatre, that is about winning the day in the media.”

He’s not chaining himself to ships anymore, but he is going on weekly Extinction Rebellion marches in Reykjavik, accompanied by his 11-year-old twin daughters.

He wishes that every school would teach lessons about how to live a carbon-lighter life. Of course, he sometimes gets depressed about the state of the planet, but he does see the silver lining of people changing their actions. “This is a beautiful U-turn and a lifestyle change we can take together. It means a better life, a longer life, a healthier life, everything can be better.”

Changes he’s made at home? “We are avoiding plastic, like everybody. We are planting trees. We have an electric car,” he explains. He can also take advantage of Iceland’s famous hydropower.

He’s been eating meat-free for a few weeks since watching Netflix’s THE GAME CHANGERS, Louie Psihoyos’ documentary about how human performance can be enhanced by eating plant-based diets. “Good storytelling can be such a powerful transport medium for good ideas – that’s not just film, that’s good art, good poetry.”

Erlingsson adds, “But we have to remember that this is not just about the consumer. We are vulnerable as consumers and civilians. We need governments to step in. The state has the obligation to make this the producers’ problem, not the consumers’ problem. So we as democratic citizens need to vote for the politicians who want this. This is the key thing, it’s structural change that has to happen.”

UK-based Wendy Mitchell is editor of EFAs Close-Up, contributing editor at Screen International and a consultant for the San Sebastian, Rotterdam and Zurich film festivals. Her website is filmwendy.com.

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY BENEDIKT ERLINGSSON 3

Woman at War

Woman at War Woman at War

CONNECT4CLIMATE: HARNESSING THE POWER OF FILMBy Wendy Mitchell

Before anyone else had heard the name Greta Thunberg, Connect4Climate was interested in how youth were tackling climate change.

Back in 2015, the organisation became one of the backers of a project conceived in 2008 by then-15-year-old director Slater Jewell-Kemker, following her 10-year journey in the youth climate movement. Now the finished feature, YOUTH UNSTOPPABLE, about the international youth climate movement, has shown at more than 50 film festivals around the globe.

Giulia C. Braga, Connect4Climate’s programme manager, says: “The idea for this project was to find ways for young people to tell their stories through film and video and mentorship. Hopefully, we will see an amazing coming together of more stories. This generation is showing the way.”

Film4Climate is just one part of Connect4Climate, a global partnership launched in late 2009 by the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, that takes on climate change through various activities.

Film is such a powerful medium to inspire change, Braga says. “The work we started to do with the film industry was aimed at reaching young people through the power of film. “Film can have immediate impact, with its emotional resonance, and reach a mass audience no matter of age, sex, country. We really wanted to leverage the power of cinema and work with the film industry.”

Since 2014, Film4Climate has concentrated on two areas of work: developing plans for film production to become greener, and raising awareness about climate change through the messages of films. The organization has worked with more than 160 film organisations so far, including Cannes Marché’s DocDay, the Venice Biennale, Flanders Audiovisual Fund and film commissions such as Ile-de-France. Filmmakers including Marc Forster, Wim Wenders and Fernando Meirelles have worked with the group’s projects.

Activities include the Action4Climate documentary film competition in 2014; the annual programme of climate-themed films and a post-production award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival; the Cinema Green project airing short films on Crackle’s platforms in Brazil and introducing the Film4Climate Charter (see box, next page) in 2015.

The group has also moved into VR – working with Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and Italian manufacturer Alcantara for the Uniting4Climate VR pitch competition in 2017. The resulting VR project, Francesco Carrozzini’s X-RAY FASHION developed with Danish VR company MANND, premiered at Venice 2018 as a cinematic VR experience that guides the viewer through the different stages of garment production from cotton farm to sweatshop, and from catwalk to consumer purchase to the afterlife of the garment.

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X-Ray Fashion

“I THINK THE AWARENESS IS GROWING IN THE FILM INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO FASHION OR OTHER FIELDS.” Giulia C. Braga

xxGiulia C. Braga

Film4Climate has also supported another feature documentary, THE GREAT GREEN WALL, which is directed by Jared P Scott and executive produced by Meirelles. The film documents the people in the Sahel region in Africa trying to save their lands by planting an 8,000-kilometre wall of trees. “The film is a musical journey across Africa and the Great Green Wall countries,” says Braga. “The idea is to reach people through the arts and emotions … We are not a production company but we are trying our best to support great films.”

Of course, climate change is the focus of many outstanding documentaries but Braga also says, “we are thinking of ways such topics could be integrated with a film’s storyline within fiction films that are reaching many people.” She notes that THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is known as a sustainable production “but it also included messages about recycling and renewable energy.”

The Charter in 2015 was “a declaration of intent to make production more sustainable.” She points to the many national and regional initiatives around the globe that want to guide productions to be more green. “We are trying to work with these networks and many around the world to see if all best practices could be harmonised and have some international production protocols, maybe with financial incentives or awards for best practices.”

She also hopes Film4Climate can add to its post-production award by also setting up a new sustainable pre-production award, which would come with in-kind support.

In the years since Connect4Climate started, Braga can feel a change. “I think the awareness is growing in the film industry, especially compared to fashion or other fields.”

She suggests that maybe there could be more awards, standalone or in partnership with film festivals, that could reward films that look at climate change, or are sustainable productions.

She adds, “What is still missing is the holistic approach in the film industry that brings all the components together. We really need to focus more on incentives and especially on the mechanisms of sustainable production.”

UK-based Wendy Mitchell is editor of EFAs Close-Up, contributing editor at Screen International and a consultant for the San Sebastian, Rotterdam and Zurich film festivals. Her website is filmwendy.com.

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FILM4CLIMATE’S INTERNATIONAL CHARTER The charter challenges its partners: 

• To demonstrate respect for the earth by limiting land modification and habitat degradation, avoiding contamination, and guarding against the introduction of invasive species;

• To utilize environmental experts to assist production whenever possible, and to train Eco Supervisors and department heads to facilitate comprehensive sustainability measures;

• To respect scientific knowledge and information in both production and storytelling content, and to incorporate climate messaging and education whenever possible;

• To use “Best Practice” guidelines to guide achievable goals during production as outlined by industry leaders, including EcoProd, PGA Green, Albert and Edison Green. These include policies for responsible purchasing that promotes “fair trade” and “green” products;

• To explore new technologies and innovative ways to reduce the carbon footprint of productions including LED lighting, cameras with advanced sensors for low lighting, rechargeable batteries, alternative fuels, solar and other sources of renewable energy;

• To use practical software or carbon calculators to analyse, calculate and reduce the carbon footprints of film productions;

• To create and make available Sustainability Reports for each production to be shared with cast, crew and financiers, and to promote education and public awareness of eco efforts;

• To employ carbon offsets, or compensate and make positive environmental contributions to communities negatively impacted by production.

xx xxYouth Unstoppable Youth Unstoppable

DOC SOCIETY: “WE NEED TO UNLEASH A RICH BIODIVERSITY OF STORIES WITH A CLIMATE NARRATIVE”By Michael Rosser

Doc Society has been turning up the heat on climate-change filmmaking following a startling “wake-up call”.

It was three years ago when Jess Search, chief executive of the documentary- funding organisation, found herself at a dinner with Mary Robinson, the former Prime Minister of Ireland and “climate justice” advocate.

“I felt like I was up to speed on these issues but after spending the day with Mary, I realised I wasn’t and the penny dropped,” says Search. “I realised we had to pivot our organisation towards this emergency. It’s our responsibility.”

Since its launch in 2005, non-profit organisation Doc Society (formerly known as Britdoc) had backed several films with environmental concerns at their centre ranging from tackling overfishing in THE END OF THE LINE (2009) to spotlighting the plight of the mountain gorilla in Oscar-nominated feature VIRUNGA (2014).

But Search recalls the scarcity of films available to support. “If there has been a deficit in really good independent filmmaking around social change then that is a problem we should be solving together,” she asserts.

The decision to focus on the climate crisis marked a major shift for Doc Society, which had previously resisted targeting any specific subject as they “wanted filmmakers to reflect the zeitgeist and tell us what was important.”

Since 2017, the organisation has worked to consider climate issues in all its programmatic work. “The truth is that the climate is going to affect almost every single thing so it needs to be in everything,” says Search. “It’s not just that we need more programmes about climate, we need more climate in all our programmes.”

To help realise this vision, Doc Society joined forces with production company Exposure Labs earlier this year to pilot the Climate Story Lab. The inaugural event, held in New York in July, was designed to build on Doc Society’s Good Pitch Impact Labs, which has connected social justice films with partners for more than 10 years.

The first Climate Story Lab invited 12 projects from around the world, including upcoming Greta Thunberg documentary GRETA VS CLIMATE (see page 14), to present their plans at the event. It also brought together filmmakers with scientists, branding experts, political strategists and more to discuss how best to inspire people and engage politicians.

“Something that we’re taking on, which is big and quite systemic, is the desire from financiers and distributors to want the next big thing, asking what’s the next AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH,” says Search of one of the issues raised during the event.

“I understand that impulse. But in the same way that there’s been a mono-culture in agriculture, which has led to the devastation of species, there’s a similar thing happening in narrative storytelling.

“We need to unleash a rich biodiversity of stories with a climate narrative and hear about solutions that come from every part of society. We need a rich, complex, multi-faceted set of stories and conversations. Not just “What is the answer?” because there is no one answer to the climate crisis.”

Following the pilot, Climate Story Lab UK will be held in London over four days in March 2020 (applications now open at climatestorylab.org). Up to nine projects are being sought with climate at their heart in a bid to forge collaboration with climate experts.

“All of our partners want to be a part of the climate work that we’re doing,” says Search of Doc Society’s work throughout Europe and around the world. Recent Good Pitch events, which bring together documentary filmmakers with foundations, philanthropists, policymakers and more around leading social and environmental issues, have taken place in Hawaii, Indonesia and Brazil.

“Our work has been global for the past eight years and half the filmmakers we work for are based outside the UK,” she adds.

“We work on a small scale with independent filmmakers but they are a powerful network in every country and what they do, by its very nature, is very catalytic.

Michael Rosser is a London-based writer and editor specialising in the UK and international film industry. He regularly contributes to Screen International, previously worked at IMDb and Broadcast, and moderates at screenings, events and film festivals.

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xx xx xxJess Search Climate Story Lab Climate Story Lab

“PEOPLE SEE AN INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY AND THAT CAN OFTEN BE WHAT SPARKS A REACTION. IT CAN BE THE BEGINNING OF THE CHANGE WE ALL NEED.” Jess Search

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SUSTAINABILITY IN PRODUCTION: GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARDBy Jennifer Green

The re-usable black water bottle of Spain-based production service company Fresco Film is a minor Instagram celebrity. Like the garden gnome from AMÉLIE, the Fresco bottle has been photographed at tourist sites around the world, including the Colosseum in Rome, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the skyline of Bangkok.

“It’s a symbol,” explains Esmeralda Ruiz, Fresco’s Head of Marketing and Environmental Sustainability, who says this one conservation effort has helped avoid the use of more than 250,000 plastic water bottles on film sets in 2018 and 2019. Fresco slips a note explaining its sustainability efforts inside each of the bottles it passes out to crews – including on projects like HBO’s GAME OF THRONES, Sony’s SNATCH and Netflix’s WARRIOR NUN – “so whoever uses that bottle is aware of how much they can do.”

Awareness of the impact of every individual action is a key component to motivate more productions to “go green,” say sustainability experts across Europe, as is sharing information about success stories and best practices.

While there are plenty of resources available online to help European filmmakers take the initiative, the impetus has to come from the makers and backers of the movies themselves, and efforts toward reducing a film’s carbon footprint can and should start at the earliest stages of production – and be measurable afterwards.

First Steps

“The way films are produced in general is not very sustainable,” says Birgit Heidsiek, Green Cinema Consultant of the German Federal Film Fund (FFA), who launched the online forum and magazine Green Film Shooting in 2012. The highest emissions on film sets are said to be generated by energy usage (generators), transportation of materials (equipment, material), waste, and post-production energy use and transportation of people (flights to the cheapest sound studio, for example).

People engaged in sustainability efforts insist it can actually be quite easy to address these and other aspects, especially if you start early in the process, co-ordinate centrally and spread the effort across departments through both awareness and training. Hiring local companies with their own sustainable programmes in place, housing cast and crew locally, and re-using, recycling and donating wherever possible are three key actions.

“It may seem daunting at first, and the breaking out of traditional ways of working can be quite jarring for a lot of people,” says Angela Moneke, Production Co-ordinator at the UK’s Working Title Films. Their MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS earned an Environmental Media Association (EMA) Gold Seal award in 2018 for its work toward sustainable production. “It’s only when you get into it – when all the teething issues are sorted out and everyone knows what they’re doing and things are running smoothly – that you see actually just how easy it can be.”

Among the eco-friendly steps taken on MARY were paperless document distribution, recycled paper, re-used office and set construction materials from Universal Pictures’ JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, re-usable water bottles and rechargeable batteries. The crew gave back locally by donating resources like props, furniture, books, costumes and food, and director Josie Rourke donated 112 trees to be planted in the Scottish Highlands, where the film was partially shot.

“The main thing is to have the sustainability manager on board from pre-production,” suggests Ludovica Chiarini of Italy’s Tempesta Film, because that’s when major decisions are made about suppliers, locations and contracts that can include “sustainability clauses.” Chiarini managed the EcoMuvi protocol and certification process on Tempesta’s HAPPY AS LAZZARO from director Alice Rohrwacher, which was estimated to have saved the equivalent of 249 tons of CO2, “mainly due to carpooling and using the train rather than cars.”

Fresco Film’s Ruiz agrees. “When you’re selecting between one supplier and another, try to choose those who are working more sustainably. For example, if I have two electrical companies and one uses LED packs and the other doesn’t, I’ll go with the one who uses the LED.” This is the kind of small step, “simply through the decisions you make,” that Ruiz suggests producers can start taking in initial sustainability efforts. Others can include “avoiding printing, not consuming plastic, trying to buy responsibly, renting rather than buying resources.”

“THE WAY FILMS ARE PRODUCED IN GENERAL IS NOT VERY SUSTAINABLE” Birgit Heidsiek

xx xxA water cooler on the sustainable set of Happy as Lazarro

Fresco Film’s re-usable water bottles have travelled the globe, including Zimbabwe

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Heidsiek points to the example of director Emily Atef’s German-French co-production 3 DAYS IN QUIBERON, which she says saved time, energy and money by shooting in one location in Germany and housing the cast and crew within walking distance. A small second unit was sent alone to get exterior shots in Quiberon, where the film takes place. “If you want to avoid unnecessary transportation, it would be better to do everything locally,” she says. These efforts earned the production a Green Shooting Card from the Hamburg Film Fund.

“The scales to which people are able to practice sustainability might be different,” Moneke concludes. “But as long as the effort is being made and people are trying and building on it, then that’s progress.”

Cost Concerns

Producers invariably question whether sustainable activities add cost or save on budget. “The answer is that it’s both,” says producer Marta Garcia Larriu, director of the sustainability-themed Another Way Film Festival of Madrid, now in its fifth year. “You have to make an initial investment but you get it back in the end.” For example, a production might have to invest up front in iPads in order to go digital, but will later save on paper, printers and ink.

“All across the board, wherever you’re trying to re-use and repurpose things, generally it’s most likely going to be good for your budget,” says Moneke. On MARY, she cites specific cost savings on rechargeable batteries rather than disposable, on re-usable water bottles and on repurposed plywood from a past set.

Tempesta Film founder Carlo Cresto-Dina calls sustainability “less expensive” and calculates EcoMuvi protocols on Rohrwacher’s previous film THE WONDERS saved upwards of €30,000 on a €5.8 million budget. “It’s not massive, but why not do it?”

The Producer’s Guild of America’s Green Production Guide project calls the widespread belief that it costs more to go green on set a “myth.” The project published a 2014 report titled “Going & Saving Green: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Sustainable Filmmaking,” prepared by Earth Angel CEO Emellie O’Brien, known for her work on the film widely heralded as “the most eco-friendly blockbuster” in history, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2.

Her report breaks down significant potential on-set savings via seemingly minor steps and tallies cost savings on productions like Paramount Pictures’ NOAH ($45,000 savings in recycling steel) and BOARDWALK EMPIRE, season 2 (more than $160 savings per crew member to share scripts digitally), among others.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT There are not yet many incentives or official protocols in place at the institutional level in Europe to motivate and regulate sustainability, and this is widely seen as a pressing need. “Experience shows that if you say something is an option, some people do it but not everyone,” consultant Heidsiek says. “But if film funds or TV stations or streaming services are requesting it, then it’s much better.” Tempesta Film’s Cresto-Dina agrees:

“Reduction of impact should be a compulsory request for any public investment in films and TV.”

“In Europe, we are moving slowly and there is no European protocol for green shooting, so each region or each country has its own criteria and rules, and it’s quite difficult because a production has to follow those different criteria,” adds Angelica Cantisani, Network Manager of the European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN). “A common guideline would be a good thing.”

The European Union launched the five-year “Green Screen” Interreg project in 2017 with the support of commissions, funds and development agencies in eight European regions and budget of nearly €2 million. The project’s goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of European film and TV production through the sharing of information, development of regional policies, and training in sustainable measures.

“Right now, it’s the film commissions and regions that are more sensitive to this that have developed something,” Cantisani notes. The EUFCN website has assembled toolkits, guides and handbooks from nine of its member commissions. Among them, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF) in Belgium is often highlighted as a leader because it ties sustainability to funding: it requires productions to receive “eco-coaching” and to meet carbon footprint standards before they can receive the last 10 percent instalment of support.

The Trentino Film Commission’s “T-Green Film” bills itself as the first regional fund in Europe that awards and certifies productions applying environmental protection measures to their works. The Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Commission’s Green Shooting Card is a seal of approval that can be helpful when applying for location permits.

The Green Screen initiative of Film London, a lead partner in the EU Green Screen project, provides an interactive step-by-step guide, department-tailored tips, action plans, potential discounts on filming fees for certain locations, and an official audit and Green Screen stamp at the end. The initiative, which aims to roll out nationwide after getting established in London, was field tested on Netflix’s THE CROWN, Ben Wheatley’s FREE FIRE and BBC Films’ CITY OF TINY LIGHTS.

Carlo Cresto-Dina Esmerelda RuizLudovica ChiariniEmellie O’Brien

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Next Steps

Beyond a need for more institutional support (see box, page 8), many of the people spearheading these efforts emphasize the need for sharing information and experiences. “I want to know what my colleagues are doing because I can learn from them and they from me. Nobody has a magic formula here,” Ruiz says, noting that Fresco applies what it learns on each new production to the next.

Most agree that it’s helpful to have a dedicated person in production overseeing green activities, and that it’s a good idea to explain and promote a production’s sustainability efforts to the cast and crew so everyone is on board. Training is key. “Production is the spine so they have to demand it, but if people aren’t trained it won’t work,” says Garcia Larriu, whose October 2019 festival edition hosted a one-day training session on sustainable production. Heidsiek highlights the opportunity to train young people on sustainability from the time they’re in film school.

Angelica Cantisani, Network Manager for the European Film Commissions Network, also adds the possibilities for “green storytelling,” or “sharing green content and sustainable practices in the script and on the screen” through, for example, character actions and dialogues. Garcia Larriu also underscores this point and says her festival is receiving more projects every year dedicated to the topic of sustainability.

Women seem to be leading the charge of sustainability in film. “My belief is that women are uniquely poised to lead on climate. We’re especially good at seeing the forest through the trees and we’re naturally strong in community leadership positions,” says Earth Angel’s O’Brien. “The film industry is undergoing a massive social and environmental reckoning that’s going to take real, systematic change to address and I believe having more women in leadership positions is fundamental to manifesting that change.”

As Moneke puts it, “I think it’s just about taking that first step, people getting more educated, more information being available, more people sharing information, and I think that will be the way that more and more productions start to do that as well. Even the littlest things will make a difference.”

“There’s no other alternative,” Ruiz adds. “Everyone needs to collaborate to protect the environment.”

Jennifer Green is a Madrid-based journalist who writes for The Hollywood Reporter and Common Sense Media.

STEPS AT EVERY STAGE A series of protocols and measurement for sustainable activities developed by Italy-UK outfit Tempesta Film in collaboration with film professionals and environmental experts, EcoMuvi has been used on seven films since 2013. Company founder Carlo Cresto-Dina cites several motivations behind it: the obvious reduction of carbon emissions; the public profile of the media industry that can draw a “unique spotlight” to sustainability; the fact that film sets mimic real life and can thus serve as experimental microcosms; and the creation of new jobs.

EcoMuvi, which also offers a third-party audit of the impact of sustainability activities on set, is available for free to anyone interested.

Producers can also find myriad best practice recommendations and checklists as well as carbon calculators online. One such tool is the “Eco-Production Guide for Sustainable Film and TV Production,” published in 2014 by a consortium of public and private French organisations and available online. Some examples of the many possible actions detailed in this guide include:

• Production Offices: Reduce waste and energy consumption by using eco-friendly office supplies and contracting energy efficient office systems for heating, cooling, etc.

• Transportation: Plan logistics in less wasteful ways, for example by having crews stay as close to filming as possible and using public or energy efficient transportation modes.

• Catering: Hire a local and/or organic caterer and work to curb food and other waste through food sharing plans, donations and non-disposable cutlery and containers.

• Studio & Set: Design eco-friendly sets with locally sourced, repurposed and/or recyclable materials.

• Lighting & Energy: Plan ahead for daytime shoots requiring as little artificial light as possible, and use LED and other energy-efficient light sources where possible.

• Equipment: Rent high-efficiency equipment, limit waste and train crew to be sensitive to these issues.

• Costumes & Make-up: Re-use, borrow and rent costumes where possible, and opt for eco-friendly make-up and hair care products.

• Post-production: Choose the most environmentally aware studios, preferably local, broadcasting techniques and archiving methods possible to limit energy consumption and waste. Donate materials for re-use after filming.

“THERE’S NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE. “EVERYONE NEEDS TO COLLABORATE TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.” Esmerelda Luiz

Angelica CantisaniAngela MonekeMarta Garcia Larriu

CAN FILM FESTIVALS BE MORE SUSTAINABLE?By Ben Croll

As concerns about a rapidly changing climate have dominated newspaper headlines, public squares and political debates all across the continent, many in the European industry have found themselves turning over the same, intractable question: How, if at all possible, can they re-organise the travel-heavy festival circuit into a more sustainable model?

The simple answer, of course, is that there is no simple answer. “Every international gathering requires much travelling, and therefore causes [significant] C02 emissions,” says incoming Berlinale co-director Mariette Rissenbeek. “The bigger the event, the more travelling [it requires.]”

In other words, even the most ecologically conscious get-togethers find themselves operating on contradictory grounds, grappling with the fact that festivals can neither exist nor succeed without leaving substantial carbon footprints in their steads. And if this paradox offers no easy way out, that has not stopped many industry stalwarts from trying to push through.

For those who attend such events, that could mean opting for a different mode of transport. “We’d like to get to a point where it’s a no-brainer to attend all European festivals by train,” says Jakob Abrahamsson, CEO of Scandinavian distributor NonStop Entertainment. “The main goal would be having less of an environmental footprint when you travel a lot by plane … If you’re in Belgium and need to go to Berlin, or in Germany and need to go to Cannes, then why not? Why should you fly?”

Over the past few years, Abrahamsson has encouraged his team to look into rail options whenever possible, even if that means spending a bit more on tickets and taking a bit longer to arrive. However, despite his best intentions, Abrahamsson was unable to find a simple, overnight train from Stockholm to Berlin when planning his Berlinale trip earlier this year.

Indeed, the patchwork nature of the various national rail authorities across the EU – and the herky-jerky way they interact with one another – can make international travel particularly onerous. Unable to find a direct line from Stockholm to Berlin, Abrahamsson finally opted to fly, and is unhappy with the prospect of having to do so again in February. Going forward, the path towards more streamlined travel might have to run through Brussels.

For some festivals, plane travel is non-negotiable. One of those is Doclisboa, a rising Lisbon-based fest that welcomes nearly 200 international participants each year, and offers a socially engaged selection of docs from across the globe. This past year, the doc festival gave a platform to many Brazilian artists and activists who have been marginalised due to their country’s continued rightward lurch – so for outgoing Doclisboa director Cíntia Gil, that meant grappling with questions of travel and paper use.

“Film festivals are communities, and politically, it’s very important that they do exist as such, as places where people do travel to in order to be together,” says Gil, who is moving onto a new post as director of Sheffield Doc/Fest. “[People needed to be physically present, and we needed to print a catalogue because] a book exists no matter what; on the Internet, things can be controlled and erased, but a book will always exist unless you burn every copy. No one can say this did not happen.”

Rather than adopting any one major change in the pursuit of greater sustainability, Doclisboa instead took inventory of its own philosophical goals and operational requirements, looking for ways to square them in an internally coherent and ecologically responsible way. “You have to be conscious of three things,” explains Gil. “Investment, expenses and waste.”

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY FESTIVALS 10

xx

German actor Alexander Scheer on the red carpet in front of the Berlinale Palast; the red carpet is made in co-operation with Engagement Global and consists of 100% recycled fishing nets and other nylon waste

“FILM FESTIVALS ARE COMMUNITIES, AND POLITICALLY, IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THEY DO EXIST AS SUCH, AS PLACES WHERE PEOPLE DO TRAVEL TO IN ORDER TO BE TOGETHER” Cíntia Gil

From an operational standpoint, that meant reducing the number of catalogues and posters printed, offering attendees and festival staff re-usable water bottles, and simplifying the catering and cleaning, all with the idea of limiting waste. At the same time, the festival also re-examined its outward impact, both by only choosing partners with similar ecological goals, and by offering international visitors longer stays, in order to make their travel more valuable.

Finally, the festival questioned its own scope. As their project grew in international heft, the Doclisboa team responded by streamlining the selection, reducing the amount of films in both the Portuguese and International competitions – and thus the amount of travel required. “We could have more, but we decided to be precise,” says Gil. “I think this very precise balance has something to do with ecology. We took up more space in previous years, and we tried to reduce that, to only have what was needed for a meaningful program.”

It goes without saying that the requirements of a market are rather different from those of a documentary festival, yet when it comes to sustainability, many of the solutions are identical. And so, when the organisers of Rome-based market MIA sought ISO 20121 certification – the international standard for the sustainable management of events – they also handed out re-usable water bottles, focused on local catering, and tried to limit waste.

And though it might be too much of a stretch to call MIA’s several-hundred page catalogue ‘eco-friendly,’ the fact that the market only printed one catalogue per accredited guest resulted in only 2,000 copies being made – down from the staggering 15,000 catalogues made for the 2018 edition. Every bit helps.

Trentino Film Commission chief and green production expert Luca Ferrario spearheaded MIA’s efforts to get third-party certification in part to give the market additional cachet. “Thousands of companies and events are talking about going green and you never know what they’re actually doing to [live up to those claims,]” he notes.

“Having certification gives you more credibility … This is something that could be helpful for communications and promotion. Someday soon, I think some people will be more willing to attend a green event rather than one that’s not, so this is something more you can offer.”

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY FESTIVALS 11

“CERTIFICATION IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE HELPFUL FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND PROMOTION. SOMEDAY SOON, I THINK SOME PEOPLE WILL BE MORE WILLING TO ATTEND A GREEN EVENT RATHER THAN ONE THAT’S NOT, SO THIS IS SOMETHING MORE YOU CAN OFFER.” Luca Ferrario

xx xxJakob Abrahamsson of Sweden’s Non-Stop travels via train to markets and festivals when possible.

Rome’s MIA market encouraged use of the city’s public drinking fountains.

Birgit Heidsiek

Until that day comes, Ferrario allows that certain sustainability measures could anticipate some resistance, especially in locations with limited access to eco-friendly partners. “[In Italy] maybe only 2 out of 10 companies work with recycled materials, so you have a smaller degree of choice,” he admits. “The hardest thing is to convince people that this is important, and to convince them that this is worth it, even if that means paying extra money. You have to explain that this is good for everybody, good for society and good for the image of the event.” 

On the global stage, certainly no event has promoted its commitment to sustainability more than the Berlinale. Since first receiving EMAS certification in 2013, the festival has reduced paper use, invested in electric cars, recyclable cups and LED lights, powered its flagship Berlinale Palast with 100% renewable energy, and partnered with climate consultant Forest Carbon Group to offset festival emissions.

And for all that, green consultant Birgit Heidsiek believes that Berlin’s most impactful decision was to deciding to no longer serve meat at official functions. 

“In terms of carbon emissions, meat production is just as bad as flying,” says Heidsiek, who is green consultant for the German Federal Film Fund and founder of the Green Film Shooting magazine and website. “Meat production requires a huge amount of water consumption; the production of one hamburger requires the same amount of water you’d need for a year’s worth of showers. Reducing or even avoiding meat is something that anyone can do. If the food is good, nobody questions whether it has meat or not, and this is something where you can make a big change.”

Heidsiek’s message here is less a point-blank argument in favour of vegetarianism as it is an attempt to reframe the parameters of debate. Despite all the concern about any given festival’s footprint, at the end of the day the things that generate carbon emissions are always the same no matter where or what.

“If somebody insists on flying from Rome to Cannes, they’ll do it and you cannot prevent them,” she adds. “In the end it’s up to people, while you can only make suggestions and create a degree of awareness.”

Heidsiek continues: “Sustainability is always a process. You’re never perfect, and you’re never at 100%. Even in our homes, we’ll always generate a carbon footprint. Everybody does, somehow. But we can think of measures how to be better. Every person can do it, every company can do it, and every festival can too.”

Montreal-born and Paris-based, Ben Croll contributes to Variety, Vanity Fair, Indiewire, France 24 and more.

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY FESTIVALS 12

10 TIPS TO MAKE FESTIVALS MORE SUSTAINABLEFrom Luca Ferrario, Manager of the Trentino Film Fund and Commission; and Birgit Heidsiek, green consultant for the German Federal Film Fund and founder of Green Film Shooting

PLAN AHEAD: When it comes to sustainability, the largest share of the work is at the very beginning. It’s all a matter of organisation and decisions, and that takes time to put in place. There’s little to do during the event and a lot of work before. – LF

RETHINK PRINTED MATERIALS: If you produce something that nobody wants, then you don’t have to produce it. Ask yourself if it benefits the attendees. If there’s no real demand, then it’s a waste of resources. – BH

CATER WISELY: Consider environmental sustainability – i.e. re-usable tableware, compostable foods, etc. – as well as social sustainability, which means choosing from local producers and using seasonal products. You need to do both. – LF

LIMIT MEAT: Reducing or even avoiding meat is something that anyone can do— the trick is to serve delicious food. You need good cooks, because if the food is good, nobody questions whether it has meat or not. – BH

AVOID SINGLE-USE PLASTICS: Use re-usable dishes and cups, and put a system in place to properly wash them. Re-usable plastic has to become the new normal. – BH

RE-THINK PARTNERSHIPS: Festivals need ethical sponsors and partnerships. Look for companies that don’t create so much waste, that take responsibility when it comes to the environment, and cut ties with those that don’t. – BH

KEEP IT CENTRAL: Encourage foot travel by partnering with hotels within a 1 km radius of the central event, or look into bicycles as alternate modes of transportation. – BH & LF

OPT FOR LED LIGHTS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY: LED lights are about 70% more energy efficient, bringing ROI within two years. Festivals that only rent their premises should negotiate with their landlords, while festivals that own their buildings could make this easy change right away. – BH

ENCOURAGE RAIL TRAVEL: Offer rebates on badge fees, or partner with national rail companies to promote domestic travel. Since people always go for the cheapest and most convenient option, do what you can to make that rail. – BH

APPLY FOR THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION: Having a certification is something that gives you additional credibility because if a third party with strict criteria offers their stamp of approval, it means you did something of worth. – LF

Cíntia Gil Mariette Rissenbeck Luca Ferrario

SUSTAINABLE STORYTELLING: HOT DOCUMENTARIES AND FICTION FEATURES ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE By Michael Rosser

As climate change protests heat up around the world, it might be easy to assume that a major wave of films exploring the issue is on the way. But the number of documentaries in the pipeline is relatively few in Europe, and the amount of “cli-fi” narrative features even less.

There have been plenty of films to explore the climate crisis – from UK documentary THE AGE OF STUPID to Icelandic comedy-drama WOMAN AT WAR. But this ongoing issue requires ongoing examination and few titles have achieved breakthrough success.

“The bottom line is a lot of climate activism communications have not been accessible enough, have not been creative enough, and have not been impactful enough,” said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International, on a recent panel about the issue.

The scientific evidence and sometimes abstract concepts behind global warming can prove barriers to telling stories, and some filmmakers have turned to shorts or innovative VR experiences to get their message across. But features have proved more of a challenge.

What is clear is that an increasing part of the population is getting behind the issue of climate change. Film can help build on this momentum as a medium that inspires changes in human behaviour like no other art form. Here are some recent and upcoming European productions (or co-productions) that hope to inspire such positive action.

ARCTIC 30 (UK)Director: Baltasar KormakurProducers: Iain Smith, David Puttnam, Hani FarsiContact: info@corniche-group.com

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur, EFA Board Member whose credits include thriller EVEREST, is making this drama about the attempt by 30 Greenpeace activists to protest Russian oil exploration in Arctic waters in 2013. It will shoot at Reykjavik’s RVK Studios and on location in Poland and London. The lead producer is Iain Smith (CHILDREN OF MEN) alongside Hani Farsi of Corniche Pictures, which has been funding pre-production on the feature, which is still in development.

THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND (UK)Director: Chiwetel EjioforProducers: Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan

Written by, directed by and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor in his feature directorial debut, this drama follows a 13-year-old boy in Malawi who invents an unconventional way – using wind power – to save his family and village from famine. Produced by the BAFTA award-winning Andrea Calderwood and Gail Egan for Potboiler Productions, it was backed by Participant Media, BBC Films and the BFI. Cornerstone Films handled sales on the film, which was snapped up by Netflix ahead of its debut at Sundance 2019. It has been selected as the UK entry for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars.

CLOUDS (Finland)Director: Tuija HalttunenProducer: Niina VirtanenContact: info@wackytie.fi

With a rare documentary subect who actually wants to create climate, this is a film about Professor Hannele Korhonen – the director of climate research at the Finnish Meteorological Institute – who is working to create rain in the United Arab Emirates. Directed by Tuija Halttunen, it will be produced by Niina Virtanen of Finland’s Wacky Tie Films. The team have pitched at the Finnish Film Affair, Nordisk Panorama Forum and IDFA as they look to secure a sales company, financing and distribution ahead of a planned 2021 release.

THE DAUGHTER OF GENGHIZ (Denmark)Directors: Christian Als, Kristoffer JuelProducer: Andreas Møl Dalsgaard Contact: birgitte@elkfilm.dk

This documentary centres on Gerel, a woman fighting to “restore the spirit of Genghis Khan”. She is an ultra-nationalist, shaman, gang leader and single mom who wants to stop corruption, pollution and exploitation. Production has begun on the project, presented at last month’s IDFA Forum, which is directed by Christian Als and Kristoffer Juel. Andreas Møl Dalsgaard produces for Elk Film. World sales will be handled by DR Sales.

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SUSTAINABLE STORYTELLING 13

Clouds

The Great Green Wall

THE GREAT GREEN WALL (UK)Director: Jared P. ScottProducers: Sarah Macdonald, Jared P. Scott, Nick North, Charly W. FeldmanContact: sarah@makewaves.media

Executive produced by Fernando Meirelles, this documentary follows Malian musician Inna Modja as she takes an epic journey along Africa’s Great Green Wall – an ambitious vision to grow an 8,000km ‘wall of trees’ stretching across the entire continent to fight back against desertification, climate change and migration. Backed by the United Nations’ Convention to Combat Desertification and directed by Jared P. Scott (THE AGE OF CONSEQUENCES), the film debuted at Venice Days 2019. Former BBC  investigative journalist Sarah Macdonald produces for UK and Singapore- based outfit Make Productions. WaZabi Films handles international sales.

GRETA (Sweden)Director: Nathan GrossmanProducers: Fredrik Heining and Cecilia NessenContact: sales@cineticmedia.com

Greta Thunberg is the Swedish teenager and climate change activist that has fast become the beacon for the environmental movement. This documentary, from Sweden’s B-Reel Films and director Nathan Grossman, follows her ascent from campaigning outside her country’s parliament to addressing the United Nations, her Nobel Peace Prize nomination and beyond. It marks the feature debut of Grossman, who previously directed a TV series examining issues around meat consumption, and was pitched at CPH:DOX’s FORUM event in March. It has backing from the Swedish Film Institute and public broadcaster SVT, and is set to premiere in 2020.

A GROWN WOMAN (UK)Director: Shalini AdnaniProducers: Shalini Adnani, Cait Lyn Adamson, Bertil NilssonContact: deliveryfilmltd@gmail.com

This drama centres on Alice (Jessamine-Bliss Bell), a misanthropic millennial, who researches industrial ruins and the climate apocalypse while visiting her sister in London. When a takeaway driver shows up at her doorstep, Alice decides to leave with him in a bid to escape modern society. It marks the feature debut of Chilean-Indian writer and director Shalini Adnani, selected by Berlinale Talents in 2018. Produced by UK-based Oh, What a Paradise, the film is being lined up for a 2020 release.

LILLIAN (Austria)Director: Andreas HorvathProducer: Ulrich SeidlContact: sebastien@cercamon.biz

Climate change is shown in communities hit by storms and flooding in this documentary-fiction hybrid from Austrian director Andreas Horvath. The film stars visual artist Patrycja Planik as a woman stranded in New York, who decides to head home to her native Russia on foot. It is a journey that will take her straight across the US and into the freezing lands of Alaska along the Bering Strait. Ulrich Seidl, whose credits as a filmmaker include the PARADISE trilogy, produces. Cercamon is handling international sales, having picked up the film ahead of its premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2019.

SANCTUARY (Spain)Director: Álvaro LongoriaProducers: Álvaro Longoria, Carlos Bardem, Javier BardemContact: bmoreno@morenafilms.com

Featuring Spanish actors and environmental activists Javier and Carlos Bardem, this documentary spotlights the Greenpeace campaign to preserve the increasingly warming Antarctic Ocean. Directed by Álvaro Longoria (SONS OF THE CLOUDS), the film is produced by Morena Films and Pinguin Films, and premiered at Toronto 2019. In the feature, the Bardem brothers travel to Antarctica with a team of scientists to learn about its diversity of ecosystems and the role of oceans in reducing carbon dioxide. They also take a submarine dive into the coldest sea on Earth and meet Javier’s favourite animal, the penguin. Endeavor Content handles international sales.

SIHJA FLY WITH ME (Finland-Netherlands-Norway)Director: Marja PyykköProducers: Venla Hellstedt & Elli Toivoniemi Contact: Fulko Kuindersma fulko@dutchfeatures.com

Marja Pyykkö directs SIHJA, a live-action feature for 7-12-year-olds about an unconventional fairy and an eccentric boy who overcome their own fears and obstacles in order to save nature. Finland’s female-led Tuffi Films, who won the Berlinale Crystal Bear with STUPID YOUNG HEART, produces with co-producers from Norway and the Netherlands. Dutch Features Global Entertainment handles international sales (and will show a promo reel at EFM) and SF will handle the Nordic release. The film is in post now.

THE UNCERTAIN KINGDOM (UK)Director: variousProducers: Isabel Freer, Georgia Goggin, John JencksContact: hello@theuncertainkingdom.co.uk

This ground-breaking anthology of 20 short films offers a unique portrait of contemporary society, including themes of migration, homelessness, disability, and of course, climate change. Climate-inspired shorts include Paul Franki’s THE LIFE TREE, a magical realist story about a healing tree who could save a Bolivian boy from death due to plastic pollution. The shorts include drama, documentary, dance, mockumentary, animation and experimenta. Verve Pictures will release in UK cinemas in spring 2020.

Michael Rosser is a London-based writer and editor specialising in the UK and international film industry. He regularly contributes to Screen International, previously worked at IMDb and Broadcast, and moderates at screenings, events and film festivals.

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SUSTAINABLE STORYTELLING 14

Sihja Fly With MeLillian

SUSTAINABILITY IN FILM – SELECTED WEB RESOURCES

BAFTA: Albertwearealbert.org

BFI: Sustainabilitybfi.org.uk/about-bfi/policy-strategy/sustainability

Carbon Clapcarbonclap.ecoprod.com

Carbon Film Quotecarbonfilmquote.com

Cine Regio: Green Regiocineregio.org/subgroups/green_regio

Climate Media Factoryclimatemediafactory.de

Climate Story Lab climatestorylab.org

Creative Carbon Scotlandcreativecarbonscotland.com

Depot Cinemalewesdepot.org/about

Earth Angelearthangel.nyc/resources

EBU: Sustainable Technology in Broadcastingtech.ebu.ch/green

EcoMuvitempestafilm.it/en/ecomuvi

EcoProd ecoprod.com/fr

EcoSetecoset.la

Edison Green Movieedison.it

Environmental Media Associationgreen4ema.org

European Film Commissions Network: Green Filmingeufcn.com/green-filming

Film London: Green Screenfilmlondon.org.uk/filming_in_london/planning_your_shoot/green_screen

Flanders Audiovisaul E-Missionvaf.be/duurzaam-filmen/e-mission-english

German Federal Film Board: The Green Cinema Handbookxn--grneskino-r9a.de/blog/ueber-das-buch

Green Carpet Challengeeco-age.com/news/green-carpet-challenge

Green Film Initiative greenfilminitiative.com/index.html

Green Film Makinggreenfilmmaking.com

Green Film Networkgreenfilmnet.org

Green Film Shootinggreenfilmshooting.net

Green Screen from Interreginterregeurope.eu/greenscreen

Green Spark Groupgreensparkgroup.com

GreenSlategslate.com

Greenshoot greenshoot.com

Grünes Kinogrüneskino.de

Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film Commission: Green Shooting Cardffhsh.de/en/film_commission/gruener_drehpass.php

How To Green Your Film Productiongreenfilmmaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/GFM_guide_2014.pdf

Lower Austrian Film Commission: Evergreenlafc.at/greenguide

Netherlands Film Fund: Green Film Makingfilmfonds.nl/film-producties/green-film-making

Pear Carbon Calculator greenproductionguide.com/tools/carbon-calculator

Producers Guild of America: Green Production Guide greenproductionguide.com

Sardegna Film Commission: Green Protocol sardegnafilmcommission.it/it/green-protocol

Screen Brussels: Eco-filmingscreen.brussels/en/eco-filming

Screen Ireland: Green Filmmakingscreenireland.ie/filming/green-filmmaking

Strawberry Earth strawberryearth.com

Trentino Film Fund and Commission: T-Green Filmtrentinofilmcommission.it/en/t-green-film

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY RESOURCES 15

SELECTED ENVIRONMENTALLY THEMED EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVALS

Barents Ecology Film Festival (Russia)beffest.com

BIFED (Turkey) bifed.org/en

CINEECO (Portugal)cineeco.pt

Cervino Cinemountain (Italy)cervinocinemountain.com

Green Fest (Serbia)greenfest.rs/index.php/en

CinemAmbiente (Italy)cinemambiente.it/en

Cinemare (Germany)cinemare.org

Climate Crisis Film Festival (UK)deptfordcinema.org

Deauville Green Awards (France)deauvillegreenawards.com

Cracow Green Film Festival (Poland)greenfestival.pl

CineMaTerre (France)cinematerre.fr

Ecocup (Russia)ecocup.ru/en

Ecologico International Film Festival (Italy)ecologicofilmfestival.it

Ecozine (Spain)festivalecozine.es

EFFA (Albania)effalbania.wordpress.com

EKOFILM (Czech Republic)ekofilm.cz/en

Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature (France)festival-oiseau-nature.com

Festival du FilmVert (France and Switzerland)festivaldufilmvert.ch

FICMEC (Spain)ficmec.es

FreDD (France)festival-fredd.fr

Festival International Nature Namur (Belgium)festivalnaturenamur.be

GMIFF (Montenegro)greenmontenegro.me/en

Green Motions Filmfestival (Germany)greenmotions-filmfestival.de/en

Green Planet Barcelona (Spain)greenplanetbarcelona.cat

Green Screen Festival (Germany)greenscreen-festival.de

Greenpeace Film Festival (online)greenpeacefilmfestival.org

IFF Ekotopfilm – Envirofilm (Slovakia)ekotopfilm.sk

Innsbruck Nature Festival – Film (Switzerland)naturefestival.eu/en/i-n-f-2

International Nature Film Festival (Hungary)godollofilmfest.com/en

Lazio Green Film Festival (Italy)greenmoviefilmfest.org

Life After Oil (Italy)lifeafteroil.org

London Eco Film Festival (UK)theleff.org

Matsalu Nature Film Festival (Estonia)matsalufilm.ee/en

NaturVusion Film Festival (Germany)festival.natur-vision.de/en

Nature & Tourism Film Festival (Germany)natourale.de/en

New Earth (Poland)neiff.org

One World (Czech Republic)oneworld.cz/festival

OtherMovie (Switzerland)othermovie.ch

Pelicam (Romania)pelicam.ro/en

People and Environment (Russia)baikalkinofest.ru

Planetarium (Belarus)planetariumfest.org

Sandalia Sustainability Film Festival (Italy)sandaliafilmfestival.com

Scandinavian Wildlife Film Festival (Sweden)swff.se

Sea & Beach Film Festival (Spain)seabeachfilmfestiv.wixsite.com/seabeach

Smaragdni Eco Film Festival (Croatia)greenfilmnet.org/festivals/seff

SICILIAMBIENTE (Italy)festivalsiciliambiente.it/?lang=en

UK Green Film Festival (UK)ukgreenfilmfestival.org

Village Doc Festival (Italy)thevillagedocfestival.com

Wolves Independent International Film Festival (Lithuania)ramuno-atelje.eu

Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands)wffr.nl

Wildscreen Festival (UK)wildscreen.org

Links compiled by Wendy Mitchell

ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY RESOURCES 16

EFA CLOSE-UPEditorial Committee: Marion Döring, Mike Downey, Pascal Edelmann

Editor: Wendy Mitchell

Please address comments and proposals to:  press@europeanfilmacademy.org