[Go Green] i-Fest International Film Festival

Working to give the next generations a sustainable future means working today in implementing concrete and useful practices and actions. Even a Festival can (and must) bring its own contribution to the cause, through actions that make a real contribution to sustainability and respect for the environment. With determination and sincerity, i-Fest GREEN, was imagined, conceived, developed and programmed already during the i-Fest project phase. The objective is that, through careful planning of cinematic and collateral activities and the involvement of students, we contribute to making the young generations aware of the delicate issue. Cinema, through the emotion of the visual experience, is a powerful tool through which to convey important messages. Another useful means is direct experience. The synergy between cinema and shared experience was the basis on which to organise specific activities dedicated to environmental issues. Therefore, the leitmotiv of the i-Fest International Film Festival is an essential and physiological link with nature, the environment and total respect for it. It is also important to underline that the Festival takes place within the wonderful Pollino National Park, the largest Unesco Geopark in Italy, and partner of the Festival. Each activity of the Festival pursues the values of sustainability, respect and protection of the environment, with the aim of leaving every area and location crossed and engaged by the event cleaner than it was found. The organisational approach of the Festival, in fact, aims to maximise the positive aspects of each activity, also in terms of the legacy that the event can have on the host territory. For this reason, each initiative is also conceived as a laboratory of social innovation, useful for conveying the most important and modern values of respect and protection of the environment. During the Festival, the locations involved are closed to traffic and the whole area of interest is equipped with suitable points for differentiated waste collection. The i-Fest 23/24 project adheres to the Plastic Free campaign. The environment and its protection come into play in the programming and become a topic of dialogue, dissemination and comparison within the teaching and literacy activities: masterclasses, meetings, workshops and thematic panels. Experts in the sector and local politicians are involved in events in order to create a constructive dialogue with the i-Fest audience. Screenings are programmed to raise awareness and a dedicated out-of-competition review: Green Screenings, where 5 works are scheduled in pre-selection. During the Festival the very popular i-Clean project takes place: an original project conceived by i-Fest, created in collaboration with the Castrovillari Department of the Environment and aimed at young people and students, which provides for the identification of urban areas and places involved in the Festival to be cleaned up. The project, was started in 2020 and part of the i-Fest 23/24 project favours significantly greater awareness linked to environmental issues, and more specifically, promotes the concept that keeping clean and respecting the environment in which we live is the fundamental starting point. The involvement of the Pollino National Park also contributes to conveying the values of i-Fest GREEN. Every year guided tours are organised in the most significant places of the Park, to the great satisfaction of the Festival audience and of the tourists who rediscover extraordinary places, and of the national and international guests (Artists, Jury), who return every year with a wealth of wonderful experiences. Below are the activities organised within i-Fest GREEN In competition Screenings (Green-themed works participating in the Orizzonti Short/Doc Contests) - Dedicated out-of-competition Screenings: Green Screenings (pre-selection 5 works for each edition) - 4 thematic meetings/workshops/panels - 2 Meetings at school - Special Project: i-Clean - Plastic Free campaign. Furthermore, the Festival, through collaboration with one of the most important car dealerships in the area for the transfers and movements of guests,the jury and insiders, makes use of electric cars.

More info: i-Fest International Film Festival

(General Editor: Simon Mundy)