Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival Announces 2018 Award Winners
Slater Jewell-Kemker’s Youth Unstoppable named Best Canadian Feature, while Farhan Umedaly's Sun on Top of the House takes Best Canadian Short Award. Hannah Donegan and Ann Shin winners of The Green Pitch with The New Black Gold.
The 19th Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival took place October 25 to 28, 2018 planetinfocus.org
TORONTO - Closing a very successful 19th edition, the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival (PiF) has unveiled its award winners for 2018. Announced at the festival’s Closing Night Gala, the awards include:
Best International Short
A Film about Animals (for my children to watch when they are older)
Eric Daniel Metzgar, USA (2016)
This filmed “letter” to his children, in which director Metzgar shows that despite the valiant efforts of Cambodia's Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, animal life is disappearing illegally from the country's rainforests was selected by the following jury: Programmer Elwood Jimmy, from Musagetes; Acting Executive Producer of TRT World Stavroula Logothettis; Sally Lee, the Executive Director of CARFAC; PIF Board Member Daniela Ponce; and PIF 2017 International Short winner Jenny Nichols.
Best Canadian Short
Sun on Top of the House
Farhan Umedaly, Canada (2018)
Umedaly’s portrait of British Columbia's largest community solar project, in which the Haida people have reclaimed control of their sacred lands and become leaders in renewable energy, was selected by the following jury: TIFF Shorts Programmer Lisa Haller; Pure + Simple Co-Founder Jean Eng; Environmental Communications Manager Thomas Jenkins; PIF Board Member and Treasurer Alice Madolciu; and 2017 Best Canadian Short Winner Scott Dobson.
Best International Feature
When Lambs Become Lions
Jon Kasbe, USA (2018)
Kasbe’s luminous and gripping portrayal of Kenya's poaching crisis was selected by the following jury: Green Film Network Member Samer Angelone; Environmental Journalist Christina Gabetti; PIF Board Member Ravi de Costa; CarribeanTales Programming Coordinator Mandisa Pantin; and 2017 Best International Feature Winner David Borenstein.
Best Canadian Feature
Youth Unstoppable
Slater Jewell-Kemker, Canada/USA/Nepal/Mexico (2018)
PIF 2018 Opening Night Gala film, Slater Jewell-Kemker’s debut feature charting the rise of the Global Youth Climate Movement was selected by the following jury: Filmmakers Lisa Jackson and Maureen Judge; CBC producer Caroline Underwood; Reel Canada's Deanna Wong; and 2017 Best Canadian Feature Winner Chanda Chevannes. The Jury also awarded an Honourable Mention to Liz Marshall’s Midian Farm.
Mark Haslam Award
El Taco Mazahua, entre el oro verde y la monarca
Juan Pablo Ortíz Tallavas, Mexico, (2017)
In Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Preserve, Indigenous farmers are reversing the hazardous effects of monoculture and chemical fertilizers to make the land—and the neighbouring butterfly forest--sustainable again. Award determined by PIF Senior Programmer Marc Glassman and PIF Programmer Julian Carrington.
Green Pitch Prize (worth over $25k in services & cash)
The New Black Gold, Hannah Donegan and Ann Shin
Hannah Donegan and Ann Shin’s film project which will follow four industry leaders across the globe as they transform human sewage into sustainable and profitable resources was selected by the following jury: Bruce Fleming, Partner and Audio Lead at Eggplant Picture and Sound; Gave Lindo, executive director of OTT programming at the CBC; and Hot Docs Industry Programmer Madelaine Russo.
The Green Pitch was sponsored by Eggplant Picture & Sound, Muskoka North Film Studios, SIM International, William F. White, Dynamix Solutions, Pie in the Sky Studios, The Source Shop, Duncan Morin, Trinity Square Video, Supergroup Sonic Branding, and Daniela Ponce Publicity.
About Planet in Focus
Planet in Focus is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to use film as a catalyst for change by raising awareness of critical environmental issues through a variety of media-based initiatives including; the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, the Green School Tours, Eco-Film Lab, the PIF Student Film Festival and year-round screenings that showcase the best environmental films from Canada and around the world. PlanetinFocus.org
Planet in Focus gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Celebrate Ontario, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Creates, Telefilm Canada, and Heritage Canada.
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