The green consciousness of a production

At the Filmförderung Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH), the green light is on. To encourage producers to commit to sustainable approaches for their supported projects, producers may now apply for a trained Eco Supervisor. The film fund will pay the salary if the production comes up with a convincing concept. This new level of support continues the path struck by the introduction of the Green Shooting Card in 2011.

„The Eco Supervisor is the green consciousness of a production”, states Eva Hubert, Executive Director of Filmförderung Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein, „who takes responsibility for initiating sustainable measures and communicating them to the team.” The Eco Supervisor’s know-how draws chiefly on experience gleaned from other green productions. „We are building a network of Eco Supervisors who can transmit their skills.” This transmission of green know-how includes recommendations for transportation and technical services that green the production as much as possible. „Our goal is to pool these resources more effectively“, stresses the Chief of the Film Fund.

In 2011, Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein awarded the first Green Shooting Card, which is now recognized throughout Germany as a bench mark. In 2014 alone, 16 productions qualified for it. A full spectrum of productions were awarded, ranging from the 3D short film Call Her Lotte to the series Notruf Hafenkante and Großstadtrevier; from the TV movie Die Insassen to feature films like Schrotten or Kleine Ziege sturer Bock.

„Every year, lots of film students apply”, reports Christiane Scholz from the Hamburg Film Commission, which works in conjunction with the Hamburg Media School (HMS). This is the green talent pool of film students where the producing team of Dirk Decker and Andrea Schütte of Tamtam Film found the HMS graduate Nadine Lewerenz, whom they hired as Eco Supervisor for their feature film Schrotten. „During the production of Schrotten, we achieved many of our ambitions”, says Nadine Lewerenz. Their dedication was awarded with a Green Shooting Card.

The Schrotten set also served as a testing ground for LED lamps. A soon-to-be-released performance analysis, resulting from the partnership of filmmaker Philip Gassmann and the Italian manufacturer De Sisti, is being supported by the Film Fund. Philip Gassmann is a member of the green consultants’ network, and he works with the Film Fund to organize workshops on green filmmaking.

„We are delighted that our commitment to green production is now alsobeing adopted in other German regions like Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia”, relates Eva Hubert. The green approach has also become an issue at the Federal Film Fund. When compared to other European countries, such as Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands or France, where the CNC supports green investments, the German film industry is still just beginning. „We should adopt these international models”, said the Chief of the Film Fund, "and cooperate in order to pave the way for a carbon footprint report from each and every production.”