The Film4Climate Global Video Competition formally opens today as the centerpiece of the Connect4Climate initiative to promote sustainability in the creative industries through active engagement with young people in finding solutions to climate change.

Announced at the Cannes Film Festival by the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate global partnership program, the competition will be open for submissions through September 15, with the winners to be announced at a high-profile awards ceremony at the United Nations COP22 Climate Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco in November.

The competition invites aspiring filmmakers from around the world to express their vision for a sustainable future by creating a short film or video about climate action. The competition calls on filmmakers to deploy personal narratives that explore fundamental questions such as: What does climate change mean to me? What actions am I taking to mitigate the advance of global warming? What is my Climate Action message to the world?

Videos must be submitted as Public Service Announcements that are less than one minute, or as a Short Film, between one and five minutes.

The competition is open to filmmakers between 14 and 35 years old. Submissions will be open through September 15, 2016. For full competition rules and eligibility requirements, visit: film4climate.net or connect4climate.org.

The winning entries will receive cash prizes of $8,000, $5,000, and $2,000 for first, second and third place in each of two categories: an under one-minute Public Service Advertisement (PSA) or a Short Film up to five minutes.

The competition offers filmmakers a chance to have their work reviewed by a jury chaired by Bernardo Bertolucci, and including other preeminent directors, producers, writers and political leaders.

At the competition’s announcement in Cannes, producer and jury member Lawrence Bender said, “In every country, every city, people have different stories on climate change…there are many stories that can be told. If this worldwide film competition creates a critical mass of ideas and energy, it could help tip the balance in terms of focusing people’s attention.”

Nick Nuttall, Spokesperson/Head of Communications, UNFCCC, adds, “In order to unleash the full potential of the Paris Climate Change Agreement towards a better, more climate-safe world, all sectors of society and all walks of life need to be on board, including the creative industries. We are therefore delighted to be working with Connect4Climate to raise awareness on how the film industry can fast forward its contribution, and to showcase these achievements in Morocco in November at the next UN climate change conference.”

In addition to the main cash prizes a number of special prizes will be awarded to outstanding entries. These include a People’s Choice award, a MENA-Award for the best entry from the Middle East and North Africa region, and a “Price on Carbon Pollution” award. Other prizes, including worldwide distribution by Vulcan Productions, will be awarded as determined by presenting partners.

Carole Tomko, General Manager and Creative Director of Vulcan Productions, states, “We know the immense power of storytelling to change the way people view an issue, to raise awareness and inspire progress. We are looking for submissions that energize and communicate in a fresh manner, and demonstrate innovative storytelling of key issues of our time.”

“This competition is a chance for young people to tell a story that may change the world,” said Lucia Grenna, Program Manager of Connect4Climate, the global partnership program behind the competition. “The science of climate change is beyond debate. Politicians are moving in the direction of a solution. What we need now is the creative push that the passion and imagination of young people can provide. We need their images and words to tell a story that inspires individual responsibility and collective action on a global scale.”

The competition is the outcome of a partnership between the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program, the United Nations, Vulcan Productions, and the Italian energy company Enel, which has endorsed the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and targeted carbon neutrality for its operations by 2050. Other presenting partners include the UNFCCC, UN Sustainable Development, UNEP, The Global Brain, and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco. In addition, more than 50 collaborating partners are supporting the competition.

Bernardo Bertolucci (“The Conformist,” “Last Tango in Paris”) will serve as the jury president of the competition. Bertolucci is joined on the jury by Oscar-winning Directors and Producers as well as luminaries of cinema, communications and the environment, including Mohamed Nasheed, climate champion and former president of the Maldives, producer Lawrence Bender (“An Inconvenient Truth,” “Pulp Fiction”), director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Saving Face,” “A Girl in the River”), director Louie Psihoyos (“The Cove,” “Racing Extinction”), director Fernando Meirelles (“City of God,” “The Constant Gardener”), director Robert Stone (“Radio Bikini,” “Pandora’s Promise”), director Mika Kaurismaki (“Zombie and the Ghost Train”), director Pablo Trapero (“Carancho,” “El Clan”), producer Martin Katz (“Hotel Rwanda”), Ann Hornaday, Chief Film Critic of The Washington Post, Sheila Redzepi, Vice President for External and Corporate Relations, World Bank Group, Moroccan director Farida Benlyazid (“Frontieras,” “Keïd Ensa”), Carole Tomko, General Manager and Creative Director of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions, Maria Wilhelm, Executive Director of the Avatar Alliance Foundation, Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of the Paley Center for Media, Rose Kuo, CEO and Artistic Director of the Qingdao International Film Festival, and Mark Lynas, author and environmentalist (“The God Species,” “Six Degrees”).

Connect4Climate

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