Our project is a finalist in the Environment category and was reviewed by the jury composed of international experts in the area of ICT for Development. Only up to 20% of the entries that make it to the jury round are selected as finalists. The winners of the Stockholm Challenge Award 2008 trophies are revealed during the ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall, on May 22, 2008. |
Perhaps the most interesting part of the event was the audience, which included people from the local communities of the Chichinautzin, the Chichinautzin Corridor director, as well as students and professors of the biology department of the University. Several of the people that appear in the documentary were present, including Ildefonso Zamora, who also gave a speech. The film seemed to have a strong effect on people, as the discussions after the screening were quite heated. Most people praised the film before quickly moving into passionate discussions about the actual problems of the Chichinautzin, such as a new highway project that would cut across the protected area. The film was particularly effective in getting biology students thinking, with many of them expressing the view that they should take immediate action and use their knowledge to participate in solving the Chichinautzin problems. This screening has taught me the importance of showing the documentary to the people whose story is being portrayed by the film. I think the documentary has great potential as an environmental education tool, and we should screen it in all the communities of the Chichinautzin. |
The agenda included panel discussions on creative television programming, the convergence of online and interactive filmmaking, and lively discussions about the future challenges and opportunities for content producers in the rapidly changing media landscape. Scheduled between the panel discussions were the one-on-one meetings and social mixers, where producers had the chance to talk with executives from broadcast networks, film and digital distributors about their respective projects. These one-on-one meetings are the signature feature of the Trigger Points conference, providing a good opportunity to meet key television and film industry decision-makers. I had the pleasure of meeting with several broadcasters and internet distributors to talk about Voices of the Chichinautzin, and the possibilities for its distribution within Canada, the U.S., and Latin America as well as discussing the potential for future UNU Media Studio documentaries. I was very encouraged by everyone’s interest in the Voices of the Chichinautzin documentary and the Media Studio in general. One of the main discussions among the conference participants was the convergence of internet and television and how this connects people and places together, making local stories global and global stories local. The synergy between documentaries and online learning can create engaging, educational tools that are a good fit for this changing landscape of digital content, where new opportunities to distribute important stories of social and environmental relevance outside of the traditional media outlets are continually evolving. In this way, good storytelling combined with in-depth educational content can work hand-in-hand by using these media tools to raise awareness about important global issues that affect everyone. We’ll have some word in the weeks ahead as to where Voices of the Chichinautzin will be broadcast and distributed so that more people will have a chance to see this documentary. |
The Story of stuff is an easy to understand documentary about the material economy and consumerism presented in a series of cartoons full of good humor. It is a very creative and effective movie that really makes you think and reconsider how your daily life affects the environment. The presenter, Annie Leonard, explains that we are living in a linear system, that is rapidly using up our planet’s natural resources. I really like this movie because it is a powerful example of how you can use the Web as an open channel to present ideas. It is simplicity at its best, no over production here! In my view, this is one of the best documentaries that you can find on the net. Go ahead and watch the video below: |
“Then you win” is a project from a voluntary association based in France called Loin de l’Œil. Using Creative Commons licenses, they are planning to produce three documentaries about Ekta Parishad in India, a mass organization based on Gandhian principles. This is an open content project developed with predominantly open source (libre) software. It is possible to participate in the project by donating, helping to promote the documentaries, translating from Hindi, Tamil to English/French, and by editing using Cinelerra (a linux based video editing tool). Or you can join in other ways, through partnership, sponsoring and collaboration. The promotion approach adopted by Loin de l’Œil is very interesting since they provide access to video ads in a variety formats (ogg, Flash) that you can embed in your blog from Dailymotion, Youtube and blip.tv. Here is the ad from YouTube. Thanks to Creative Commons for introducing this project. |
The Knasaimos people in West Papua have suffered for many years from the negative impacts of illegal logging. A documentary from Handcrafted Films, the Environmental Investigation Agency and Telapak has brought international attention to the plight of these local communities and their efforts to protect the ancestral forests. |
|
