In the run-up to the World Environment Day, Nazrul Tirtha will host the first Urban Climate Film Festival. To be held from June 3 to 5, the festival will screen 16 films from 12 countries, dealing with issues relevant to climate change like waste management, rising sea level, the value of water, threats of deforestation and climate laws.
The festival is being organised by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), a national thinktank that is the knowledge partner of U20, the urban engagement track of G20, currently underway across India. Curated by CMS Vatavaran, a film festival and forum on environment and wildlife, the festival has already taken place in Delhi and Mumbai.
“We had about 150 entries coming in from 20 countries in response to a global call for entries, from which our jury has selected 27 films. A few other films came directly from our curating partner. The screening packages are city-specific,” said Ila Singh, the head of communications at NIUA.
The festival was announced on Tuesday in presence of French consul general Didier Talpain, Alliance Francaise du Bengale (AFB) director Nicolas Facino, and Newtown Kolkata Green Smart City (NGSC) chairman Debashis Sen and CEO Meghna Pal at the AFB office.
“Every initiative, including this festival, is meant to remind ourselves that what is at stake is the future of humanity, may be not in our generation but in our great grandchildren’s,” said the French consul general.
The festival is taking place under the banner of City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS), a sub-component of the central government’s Smart Cities Mission and a joint programme of the ministry of housing and urban affairs, the French Development Agency, the European Union and NIUA.
According to Sen, cities were important as 60 per cent of the gross domestic product of the country is produced in the cities. “That is where most of the greenhouse gas emission also takes place. So cities must be involved in the fight. We will get to see in the films what cities across the world are thinking and doing about climate change,” said Sen, highlighting the aptness of New Town as a venue, being the only smart city in Bengal.
“Through the power of cinema we can mobilise the community to work towards a sustainable future. The films will educate viewers in sustainable practices,” said Facino.
CEO Pal underlined how difficult it was to change the behaviour of citizens and mentioned how the administrative machinery was trying to nudge people towards green lifestyle choices, like cycling in place of motoring.
But citizen participation has worked in projects like green verge adoption in New Town, she said. “Films would have a strong impact, especially on young viewers. May be they would become more serious about daily chores, like segregating of waste, and lifestyle choices like use of private transport,” she said.
Screening starts from 12noon in the weekend and from 2pm on Monday. The films are mostly in English, and vary in length from an hour and half to 15 minutes. Some are specific to Bengal like Borshi, on wetland pisciculture in Calcutta (June 3, 2.30pm), Loosing Ground, on the lives of climate refugees in Bangladesh (June 3, 4.30pm), Education on the Boat, on an initiative to pick up children from homes and teach them on boats in a riverine part of Bangladesh (June 4, 2.35pm) and Sunderbans: Rising Water, Ebbing Life, on the daily struggles in the world’s largest mangrove delta (June 5, 2pm). Entry is free. There are also films from France, Brazil, Canada, Italy, the US, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland and Iran.
There will also be an hour-long panel discussion on Sunday at 3pm on ‘Lights, Camera, Climate Change: The contribution of cinema in the push against climate change’, featuring media studies, film studies and environmental sciences teachers and a filmmaker.
On World Environment Day, on June 5, there will be a concluding programme at 5pm, featuring a dance show and with the programme director of CITIIS-NIUA and director of NIUA in attendance alongside the consul general and the NGSC chairman.
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