Green masterclass in Moscow

Occasioned by the green documentary film festival ECOCUP, the Goethe Institut  hosted a series of Green Film Shooting  lectures in Moscow. The event kicked off with a presentation at the green arts center Bookvodom, a hip meeting place for festival guests, film, and literature fans. Birgit Heidsiek, Publisher of Green Film Shooting, gave an introduction to green film production and presented various measures, initiatives, and projects that are currently taking place.

 

The implementation of specific tools in order to produce film sustainably was a key theme in the Green Masterclass Birgit Heidsiek taught at the Russian Federation State University of Cinematography (VGIK). Tatiana Tursunova, Head of International Affairs, invited students from the areas of Producing and Management, Animation, and Multimedia.

 

 

The green delegation also included  ECOCUP Festival Director Anastasia Laukkanen and Anna Sukhneva of the Goethe Institute, who simultaneously translated the presentation into Russian. The film students were very interested in refillable water bottles and rechargeable batteries, green solutions which are not yet available in Moscow.

 

LEDs, even though they are available in consumer products, have not yet been used in film production. An essential part of the LED groundwork was laid by Russian physicist Oleg Losev, who discovered the Round effect of light emission in 1921. He observed light emissions from carborundum point-contact junctions, which was the first light-emitting diode (LED). He determined that the luminescence was cold light not caused by thermal effects.

 

 

Founded in 1919, the State Institute of Cinematography is recognized as the oldest film school in the world. Among its first lecturers was Sergei Eisenstein, who was later invited to chair the Department of Film Direction and Acting. Alumni of VGIK, which is known for its high standards as well as for its difficult entrance examinations, include a host of luminaries: Andrej Tarkovskiy, Elem Klimov, Andrej Mikhalkov-Konchalovskiy as well as various Academy Award winners.

 

 

When it comes to costume design at the Gerassimov Institute of Cinematography, one of the seven schools within VKIG, sustainable solutions were developed decades ago. A current exhibition features various historic costumes that have been recreated from wrapping paper.

 

 

 

There is also a tremendous amount of interest in green production at the Moscow Film School, where about 3,000 students are learning the craft. The Green Film Shooting lecture provided students with best practices that can easily be integrated into production workflow. Among the guests were representatives from Russian Television who were interested in learning more about sustainable measures in film production.

 

 

Photos: © Olga Dmitrienko/ ECOCUP/ Goethe Institut/ Green Film Shooting

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *