Sustainability on Set is the issue of the fourth panel discussion on green production at Berlinale that Green Film Shooting is hosting in cooperation with the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH) and MFG Baden-Württemberg. Making movies without making a mess is possible, as Emellie O‘Brien, CEO and Founder of New York-based company Earth Angel will address in a keynote.
Sustainability on set is paying off as various examples are proving. The German Berlin Competition film 3 Tage in Quiberon by Emily Atef was awarded a Green Shooting Card. The German-French co-production that received production support from the FFHSH is produced by Rohfilm Factory. Producer Karsten Stöter who already gained international attention with films such as Lunchbox and Lore will talk about the sustainable measures on set.
Another Bear contender is the Italian film Figlia Mia by Laura Bispuri that followed during shooting the green protocol of the Sardegna Film Commisssion. Nevina Satta, CEO of the film fund, will give an insight in the sustainability strategy at Sardinia. Producer Marta Donzelli from Rome-based Vivo Film who already produced the award-winning film Quattro Volte in an environmental-friendly, will point ot which green actions were taken during the production of Figlia Mia. For the first time, European broadcaster Sky decided to produce sustainably the series Acht Tagethat was partly shot in Berlin. Sustainability Consultant Grit Belitz who was in charge for the green production efforts will share her experience.
Eco Supervisor Emellie O‘Brien already has a long-time experience when it comes to sustainability on set. Among the various projects of which she reduced the carbon footprint are huge Hollywood movies such asThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, Noahand Queen of Katwe. Her latest green production is Steven Spielberg’s new feature film The Post that stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
An important issue on set is also waste management. One panel discussion will be dedicated to waste management, recycling, and life cycle assessment. Under the motto ‘Don‘t waste the waste’ Adrian Wootton, CEO, Film London, French Ecoprod Adviser Joanna Gallardo and Tim Wagendorp, Sustainability Coordinator, Flanders Audiovisual Fund in Belgium will give insights into the best practices of waste management in their countries. They are also part of the European Green Screen project that plans to standardize environmental practices so that sustainable production measures for film and TV may be adopted across Europe.
The discussion will be moderated by Birgit Heidsiek, Publisher of Green Film Shooting.Sustainability on Set will take place on February 17, 2018, 2.30 – 4pm at Landesvertretung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg beim Bund in Berlin. For registration please RSVP before February 14, 2018.
“The time for half-measures and climate denial is over. Unless we move quickly away from fossil fuels, we’re going to destroy the air we breathe, the water we drink, the health of our children, grandchildren and future generations. If we’re going to avoid the worst of the impacts, then we’ve just got to act boldly. And we must act immediately."
Robert Redford
Actor, Director, Producer, Environmentalist
"The media has a powerful role to play in the fight against climate change. Through films, television, and all media outlets, we must continue to deliver the message that solutions are out there and are happening now. We have to make it attractive for people to take action. Movies like Avatar, The Day After Tomorrow, and documentaries like Years of Living Dangerously, which I was proud to be a part of, have been very popular, reaching and inspiring millions of people. And I believe films in particular can really inspire and make people want to take action. It’s great to see some of my film-industry friends working with climate related organizations to push forward those messages."
„It‘s high time to reorganize film production in Germany in a ‚greener‘ and more sustainable way. So far, I am flabbergasted by how much our industry works in environmentally harmful ways.To this very day, it starts with until today one-sided print-outs of scripts, and then it continues with plastic bottles in production offices and lots of plastic waste with every catered meal, and it doesn‘t stop with the limousines that pull up to a red carpet.
For many years, people have sneered at me when I brought my own cup or I declined to eat cheap meat served on paper or plastic plates with plastic knives and forks. It would be great if the Green Shooting Card could change all that.“
Director (Ben X, Time of My Life)
„It’s absolutely great that filmmakers all over the world are trying to clean up their act, and are trying to film as sustainable as we possibly can. Still, I think we shouldn’t underestimate the incredible power of the moving image to also change the hearts and minds of people.
So, apart from trying to be more environmentally aware in our business, I think the big gain lies in how we might make everyone more environmentally aware. Yes, cinema can change the world.
I think filmmakers should start using the powerful weapon in our hands that is the camera.
Let’s not only try to do ‘less bad’. Let’s try to do right, and help drive the change that we all know needs to arrive.“
“We are living in a time in which we can’t afford to behave irresponsibly towards nature. The more important is it that film productions try to work as environmentally friendly as possible. A film team produces every day tons of garbage. I try to avoid using plastic cups on set, I bring my own cup, use ecofriendly cosmetics and avoid needless single rides.”
Photo ® Maddalena Arosio
Darren Aronofsky, Director, Noah / Jury President, 65th Berlin International Film Festival
“When we did Noah we knew we were making a film about the first steward of the earth, so we wanted to be good stewards ourselves. There’s so much waste on film sets. Because of groups like Earth Angel, we were able to change that a little bit.”
"As a TV and film producer I try to incorporate environmental storylines into my projects as much as possible. But it’s just as important, if not more, to ‚go green‘ behind the scenes! Therefore, I help run the Producers Guild of America’s Green Initiative.
We provide resources such as a Best Practices and a Carbon Calculator to help producers green their productions. We also partnered with all the major studios to create www.greenproductionguide.com which is a free green vendor database with over 2,000 vendors offering sustainable production solutions worldwide!"
‚Green screens excepted, we will do everything in our power to be as innovative as we can in order to make our production as green as possible.‘
Photo: (c) herbXfilm Dieter Mayr
Lars Jessen
Director (Fraktus, Dorfpunks, Am Tag als Bobby Ewing starb)
‘It is somewhat embarrassing that green filming is only now becoming an issue in our industry because there have long since been many possibilities to shoot more efficiently.
Technical innovations such as energy efficient lighting are as much a part of this as the awareness of every crew member.’
‚I do work with a company in the States called Sungevity that leases solar panels to homes. They figured out how to move forward environmentally and how to make it economically successful.
So that’s my small but steadfast global contribution. I think everybody doing a little bit is all that’s made any difference, ever.‘
Producer, Director and Visual Effects Supervisor (2001: A Space Odysee, Blade Runner)
"Trumbull Studios in Massachusetts is dedicated to being green as much as possible, including the use of LED lighting, solar power, and solar laptops. This is not just because our location has limited amperage and no three-phase, we believe we have a responsibility to our community and our planet to be a clean industry.
We are planning for digital photography in 3D 4K at 120 frames per second from remote and inaccessible locations that will not have available power. Solar is the way to go."
Dieter Kosslick, Director Berlin International Film Festival
„The Berlinale is already actively addressing the sustainability subject since years. We appreciate it very much that a growing number of filmmakers, among them this year‘s jury presiden Darren Aranofsky, is following green guidelines on set.“
Benoit Delhomme
Director of Photography (A Most Wanted Man)
‘I never have been told precisely what the rules are for shooting a green movie, but we are trying to do it. This is something new for me. Sometimes people overlight scenes at night. I don’t. If I can see with my own eyes, then it is enough for the film. In that sense I am a green DoP.’
Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons who stars in the Berlinale Competition entry The Night Train To Lisbon is a fan of source segregated recycling. „Especially in Germany you have done a lot for that. You are examplary in the matter of waste separation.“
The Hollywood actor travelled around the world to promote the environmntal documentary feature film Trashed by Candida Brady which deals with the global garbage problem: „We buy it, we bury it, we burn it and then we ignore it“, says Brady. „With Jeremy Irons as our guide, we discover what happens to the billion or so tons of waste that goes unaccounted for each year.“
Since the world premiere at the International Cannes Film Festival in 2012 Trashed picked up various nominations and awards at international festivals.
ntender is the Italian film Figlia Mia by Laura Bispuri that followed during shooting the green protocol of the Sardegna Film Commisssion. Nevina Satta, CEO of the film fund, will give an insight in the sustainability strategy at Sardinia. Producer Marta Donzelli from Rome-based Vivo Film who already produced the award-winning film Quattro Volte in an environmental-friendly, will point ot which green actions were taken during the production of Figlia Mia. For the first time, European broadcaster Sky decided to produce sustainably the series Acht Tage that was partly shot in Berlin. Sustainability Consultant Grit Belitz who was in charge for the green production efforts will share her experience.
Eco Supervisor Emellie O‘Brien already has a long-time experience when it comes to sustainability on set. Among the various projects of which she reduced the carbon footprint are huge Hollywood movies such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Noah and Queen of Katwe. Her latest green production is Steven Spielberg’s new feature film The Post that stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
Robert Redford
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Hannes Jaenicke
Nic Balthazar
Nadeshda Brennicke, Actress
Darren Aronofsky, Director, Noah / Jury President, 65th Berlin International Film Festival
Tim Bevan
Thekla Reuten
Rachael Joy
Nikola Rakocevi
Nadja Schildknecht
Michael Bully Herbig
Lars Jessen
Helen Hunt
Douglas Trumbull
Dieter Kosslick, Director Berlin International Film Festival
Benoit Delhomme
Jeremy Irons