WASHINGTON – Ten young film crews from ten different countries were chosen as winners in the Action4Climate documentary competition. Their outstanding and unique films inspire the world to take action on climate change.
“These talented young film makers connect to their audience in emotional and powerful ways about the dangers of climate change. They have done serious, important work, which shows that climate change could result in a world that is unrecognizable today, and that we need act now to protect the planet for future generations,” said Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group in a statement made available to SundiataPost by the African Press Organisation.
The Action4Climate competition was launched in early 2014 by Connect4Climate, the global climate change communications programme. It attracted hundreds of entries from all around the world. Italian film director and screenwriter, Bernardo Bertolucci, chaired a renowned jury of film makers tasked with choosing winning films in two age categories.
“We were amazed by the originality of the stories and the genuine concern shown by these young film makers about the effects of climate change. They described the effects of climate change from hundreds of different points of view. Selecting winners was an almost impossible task,” Bernardo Bertolucci said.
In the 18 -35 age category, the $15,000 top prize went to the Portuguese film maker Gonçalo Tocha with his provocative film “The Trail of a Tale”. This inspiring story revolves around a letter written in the future to society today. Dobrin Kashavelov from Bulgaria won second place cash prizes of $10,000 with “Global Warning,” a harrowing film about the catastrophic effects on survivors of last year’s typhoon Haiyan in the
Philippines. Third place $5,000 prize was awarded to American filmmaker Nathan Dappen for “Snows of the Nile”, a documentary following Nathan’s adventures uncovering indisputable evidence of the fast disappearing glaciers of Uganda’s ‘mountains of the moon’.
“I am immensely proud to be chosen as the winner and really hope my film helps people realize that we need to act now to protect our future.” Gonçalo Tocha
In the younger 14 -17 age group, “The Violin Player” took top spot. This beautifully animated film was the brainchild of Francina Ramos, a young Argentinian film maker and her co-producer/composer Benjamin Braceras. Second place went to “Facing the Flood” by Constantin Huet from Switzerland, an investigative account of the changing conditions in Greenland and the Maldives. Georgia’s Tura Tegerashivili was awarded third place for the whimsical “It’s Easy if You Try”. All prize winners receive production equipment and software to help them hone their skills and talents and inspire them to create more climate change stories.
“What an amazing honor! I am so excited. I hope The Violin Player makes people want to stand up and tackle climate change.” Francina Ramos
The jury is made up of filmmakers Atom Egoyan, Marc Forster, Mika Kaurismaki, Fernando Meirelles, Mira Nair, Bob Rafelson, Walter Salles, Pablo Trapero and Wim Wenders, along with film executives Rose Kuo and Cynthia Lopez, and World Bank Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, Rachel Kyte. They felt the standard in the competition was so high that a special prize was awarded to “Balud” by Panx Solajes from the Philippines, for his creative personal reflection devastating floods caused by climate change.
Connect4Climate also decided that two submissions should be recognized for their ability to present local stories that also have a profound global impact. Special Connect4Climate prizes are awarded to “Tinau” from UK/Kiribati producer Victoria Burns, exploring the grave concerns of small island nations such as Kiribati, and “The Change,” a touching portrayal of the effects on young people in a Vietnamese coastal community made by filmmakers Ha Uyen, Huong Tra, Quang Dung and Quang Phuc. A People’s Choice Prize voted for by the public was won by a team from Brazil for their film “Pachamama” depicting the effects of global warming in Sao Paulo.
Prizes for the competition were graciously provided by Edison, the Italian power company, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In addition, Vimeo, the video sharing website, is enthusiastically donating Vimeo Plus accounts for one year to all the finalists from developing countries.
