New York, Nov 3 - In partnership with the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Global Programme on Nature for Development, the 17th Mobile Film Festival has selected top 50 short (1-minute each) films for 2021, on the theme of 'Making Peace with Nature'-
being screened at the UN climate conference COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland. The public will be able to view and vote on the 50 films at this link to participate in the Audience Award. The top 10 films out of the 50 will be presented at the award ceremony on December 8, 2021.
The 50 films were selected for their creativity, videography, and ability to prominently feature the role of nature in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The films contain compelling and emotional pleas for world leaders and individuals to do more to protect nature and the planet as one of the most consequential international conferences on climate change begins this week.
"Never has the theme of 'making peace with nature' been more relevant than today. The world leaders, corporations at COP26 have taken major step to restore and protect forests," stated Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. "These inspiring films demonstrate the resolve of young, innovative filmmakers from around the world as they call on world leaders to put nature at the heart of their actions and ambitions on climate."
With support from UNDP and other partners publicizing the call for film submissions, the Mobile Film Festival received 692 one-minute nature-related films from 93 countries. From these, the 50 finalists come from 34 countries and all the regions of the world.
From satirical films critiquing the way that social media can distract from more substantive action to emotional stories of the perilous future generations may face, the films provide diverse local perspectives to our global climate, biodiversity, and inequality crises.
Across all the films, one thing came across clear - it is past time to make peace with nature.
The winners of the Mobile Film Festival will be awarded a grand total of $30,000 in grants to further produce their films, split across ten different awards categories. Awards will be awarded by a jury composed of personalities from the world of cinema and culture committed to environmental issues. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000 to produce their film.
Call to Action: Become a part of this process by watching the final videos and voting for your favorite for the Audience Award here.
Each video will be available to the public to watch for free with subtitles in English, Spanish and French on the Mobile Film Festival's social media pages: Website | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram.
