See Slide 7 for my contribution to the European Film Academy's latest magazine. I wrote on "Sustainability in Production: Getting Everyone on Board."

1. LET’S ALL CLEAN UP OUR ACTS!
By Mike Downey
CLOSE-UPISSUE5 | 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).

2. 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

3. 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

4. CONNECT4CLIMATE: HARNESSING
THE POWER OF FILM
By 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.
ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY FILM4CLIMATE 4
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

5. 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.
ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY FILM4CLIMATE 5
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

6. 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.
ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY CLIMATE LAB 6
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

7. ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SUSTAINABILITY IN PRODUCTION 7
SUSTAINABILITY IN PRODUCTION:
GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARD
By 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 xx
A water cooler on the sustainable set of Happy as Lazarro
Fresco Film’s re-usable water bottles have travelled the globe,
including Zimbabwe

8. ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SUSTAINABILITY IN PRODUCTION 8
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

9. ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SUSTAINABILITY IN PRODUCTION 9
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

10. 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

11. 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 xx
Jakob 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.

12. 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 SUSTAINABLE
From 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

13. 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 Kormakur
Producers: Iain Smith, David Puttnam, Hani Farsi
Contact: 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 Ejiofor
Producers: 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 Halttunen
Producer: Niina Virtanen
Contact: 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 Juel
Producer: 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

14. THE GREAT GREEN WALL (UK)
Director: Jared P. Scott
Producers: Sarah Macdonald, Jared P. Scott, Nick North, Charly W. Feldman
Contact: 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 Grossman
Producers: Fredrik Heining and Cecilia Nessen
Contact: 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 Adnani
Producers: Shalini Adnani, Cait Lyn Adamson, Bertil Nilsson
Contact: 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 Horvath
Producer: Ulrich Seidl
Contact: 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 Longoria
Producers: Álvaro Longoria, Carlos Bardem, Javier Bardem
Contact: 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 Pyykkö
Producers: 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: various
Producers: Isabel Freer, Georgia Goggin, John Jencks
Contact: 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

15. SUSTAINABILITY IN FILM – SELECTED
WEB RESOURCES
BAFTA: Albert
wearealbert.org
BFI: Sustainability
bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/policy-strategy/sustainability
Carbon Clap
carbonclap.ecoprod.com
Carbon Film Quote
carbonfilmquote.com
Cine Regio: Green Regio
cineregio.org/subgroups/green_regio
Climate Media Factory
climatemediafactory.de
Climate Story Lab
climatestorylab.org
Creative Carbon Scotland
creativecarbonscotland.com
Depot Cinema
lewesdepot.org/about
Earth Angel
earthangel.nyc/resources
EBU: Sustainable Technology in
Broadcasting
tech.ebu.ch/green
EcoMuvi
tempestafilm.it/en/ecomuvi
EcoProd
ecoprod.com/fr
EcoSet
ecoset.la
Edison Green Movie
edison.it
Environmental Media Association
green4ema.org
European Film Commissions Network:
Green Filming
eufcn.com/green-filming
Film London: Green Screen
filmlondon.org.uk/filming_in_london/planning_
your_shoot/green_screen
Flanders Audiovisaul E-Mission
vaf.be/duurzaam-filmen/e-mission-english
German Federal Film Board: The Green
Cinema Handbook
xn--grneskino-r9a.de/blog/ueber-das-buch
Green Carpet Challenge
eco-age.com/news/green-carpet-challenge
Green Film Initiative
greenfilminitiative.com/index.html
Green Film Making
greenfilmmaking.com
Green Film Network
greenfilmnet.org
Green Film Shooting
greenfilmshooting.net
Green Screen from Interreg
interregeurope.eu/greenscreen
Green Spark Group
greensparkgroup.com
GreenSlate
gslate.com
Greenshoot
greenshoot.com
Grünes Kino
grüneskino.de
Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein Film
Commission:
Green Shooting Card
ffhsh.de/en/film_commission/gruener_drehpass.
php
How To Green Your Film Production
greenfilmmaking.com/wp-content/
uploads/2014/10/GFM_guide_2014.pdf
Lower Austrian Film Commission:
Evergreen
lafc.at/greenguide
Netherlands Film Fund: Green Film Making
filmfonds.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-filming
screen.brussels/en/eco-filming
Screen Ireland: Green Filmmaking
screenireland.ie/filming/green-filmmaking
Strawberry Earth
strawberryearth.com
Trentino Film Fund and Commission:
T-Green Film
trentinofilmcommission.it/en/t-green-film
ISSUE 5 EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY RESOURCES 15

16. 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-UP
Editorial Committee: Marion Döring, Mike Downey, Pascal Edelmann
Editor: Wendy Mitchell
Please address comments and proposals to:
press@europeanfilmacademy.org