Whether it’s Toni Sevillo holding a discussion with a prisoner in Dall’ Interno (From the Inside) or Elyas M’Barek struggling through a crisis with his girlfriend in What We Wanted or an octopus resting on a rock in Mission Mare, shooting in Sardinia always follows sustainable regulations. “Producers understand the need for our green protocols in Sardinia’s unique locations and they see them as a chance to explore new possibilities”, says Nevina Satta, CEO of the Sardegna Film Commission.
Productions prefer the green island because of its alluring locations and its locally sourced goods. Italian producer Carlo Cresto-Dina discovered the perfect location in a former prison in Sassari for his feature film Dall’ Interno, for which director Leonardo di Costanzo was ableto get Italian stars Toni Sevillo and Silvio Orlando on board. During principal photography, which took place exclusively in Sardinia, the production strictly upheld the environmental standards. With the EcoMuvi label, the Tempesta production company even developed its own certification standards for audiovisual productions: “Our protocol saves money”, stresses Cresto-Dina “and it activates a virtuous circle on set with new sustainable practices.”
“The most important areas for implementing green production criteria are transport and crew accommodations, along with energy savings, catering, and choice of materials”, emphasizes producer Giovanni Pompeli, who sees the integration of the various parties that participate in the production and delivery chain as the biggest challenge. “Measures vary with each project but the attitude of facing production challenges with sustainable approaches must remain constant.”
Pompeli worked as line producer for the Netflix production of the relationship drama What We Wanted, which is Austria’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. The entire feature film was shot at the luxury resort of Capo Boi in the south of Sardinia. “We eliminated travel because the entire crew ate and slept in the same hotel, which served as our accommodations as well as our location.”
When shooting the arthouse film Dry Land by Polish filmmaker Aga Woszczynska,
which Pompeli co-produced with his company Kino Produzione, he followed the same principle of scheduling almost all the scenes in a single location. “Our hotel, where the crew was being accommodated, was only a kilometer away from the film set, so we could get there by either walking or bicycling”, says the producer, who managed to provide the production with electric power from the grid. “The biggest challenge of green shooting is not to adopt virtue-signaling behavior but to inspire others to do the same.”
With the partly live action, partly animated short film Mission Mare that was produced for the Italian broadcaster RAI, Federico Fiecconi wants to raise children’s awareness about the consequences of plastic pollution on ocean flora and fauna. The Sardegna Film Commission enabled shooting in a conservation area in Cala Gonone, where the crew shot only with available light.
“The idea for this project occurred during location scouting in Sardinia”, explains Satta, who trained local line producers in COVID-19 safety protocols along with the green guidelines. “This is an opportunity to show and reinforce the natural ties between eco-sustainability and on-set security: the professionals as well as the community in our motherland need to be protected as vital bases for our industry.”
“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.
uctions prefer the green island because of its alluring locations and its locally sourced goods. Italian producer Carlo Cresto-Dina discovered the perfect location in a former prison in Sassari for his feature film Dall’ Interno, for which director Leonardo di Costanzo was ableto get Italian stars Toni Sevillo and Silvio Orlando on board. During principal photography, which took place exclusively in Sardinia, the production strictly upheld the environmental standards. With the EcoMuvi label, the Tempesta production company even developed its own certification standards for audiovisual productions: “Our protocol saves money”, stresses Cresto-Dina “and it activates a virtuous circle on set with new sustainable practices.”
“The most important areas for implementing green production criteria are transport and crew accommodations, along with energy savings, catering, and choice of materials”, emphasizes producer Giovanni Pompeli, who sees the integration of the various parties that participate in the production and delivery chain as the biggest challenge. “Measures vary with each project but the attitude of facing production challenges with sustainable approaches must remain constant.”
Pompeli worked as line producer for the Netflix production of the relationship drama What We Wanted, which is Austria’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. The entire feature film was shot at the luxury resort of Capo Boi in the south of Sardinia. “We eliminated travel because the entire crew ate and slept in the same hotel, which served as our accommodations as well as our location.”
shooting the arthouse film Dry Land by Polish filmmaker Aga Woszczynska,
With the partly live action, partly animated short film Mission Mare that was produced for the Italian broadcaster RAI, Federico Fiecconi wants to raise children’s awareness about the consequences of plastic pollution on ocean flora and fauna. The Sardegna Film Commission enabled shooting in a conservation area in Cala Gonone, where the crew shot only with available light.
“The idea for this project occurred during location scouting in Sardinia”, explains Satta, who trained local line producers in COVID-19 safety protocols along with the green guidelines. “This is an opportunity to show and reinforce the natural ties between eco-sustainability and on-set security: the professionals as well as the community in our motherland need to be protected as vital bases for our industry.”
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