World Wildlife Day 2021 Film Showcase Announcement
Geneva: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Jackson Wild, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced today that they will team up to organize an international film showcase focusing on our planet’s valuable forests, their extensive ecosystems services, and millions of livelihoods that the forests help to sustain.
The Film Showcase will be one of the featured global events at the 2021 UN World Wildlife Day (3rd March) celebrations on the theme of Forests and livelihoods: sustaining people and planet.
The winners, including the films selected for the final round of the competition will be shown throughout 2021, highlighting the key message that forests are pillars of humanity’s social and economic well-being, as well as vital element for planet’s environmental health and biological diversity.
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said, “The World Wildlife Day 2021 Film Showcase offers a powerful platform to discuss the experiences of communities whose livelihoods are built on their historic relationship with forests and its wildlife. It is also an opportunity to discuss the immense value of the ecosystem services forests provide to people everywhere and to the global economy. As we seek to respond to multiple planetary crises, from climate change to biodiversity loss and the effects of a global pandemic, the film showcase will highlight the experiences of groups and communities who have established a safe and sustainable relationship with some of the planet’s most important natural systems.”
In 2013, the CITES Secretariat was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the global facilitator for the celebration of World Wildlife Day each year in collaboration with organizations in the United Nations system.
“We believe in the power of story to inspire awe at the wonders of our natural world and ignite the critical changes that will be required to restore and protect it,” agreed Lisa Samford, Executive Director of Jackson Wild. “Covering over a third of the Earth’s surface, forests are a home to 80% of all terrestrial animals, plants and insects and sustain the livelihoods of millions of people, providing ecosystems services and resources that are essential to the global economy. Rich biodiversity is essential to the health of our planet. With the impact of climate change escalating every day as growing numbers of species edge toward extinction we must act quickly and decisively our own survival.”
TIMELINE AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The call for entry will close on 4, January 2021 and finalists will be announced in mid-February 2021. Winners will be presented at a high-level, virtual event to coincide with the global celebration of UN World Wildlife Day on 3 March 2021.
2020 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forest films will then be made available for free, educational online streaming throughout the world.
AWARD CATEGORIES AND DESCRIPTIONS
People & Forests: Awarded to the film that best communicates humanity’s social, cultural, economic, or spiritual interconnectivity to forests.
My Forest: Awarded to the best forest-related film created by people living in the forest region featured in the film, including films presented by indigenous community members and independent filmmakers and production teams focusing on their local forests.
Future of Forests: Awarded to the film that most effectively explores the initiatives of individuals or organizations working to protect and preserve forest ecosystems and those that rely on them and/or scientific forest research, forest sustainability, forest-related conservation issues & solutions. Issues addressed may include traditional knowledge, forest-dependent livelihoods, climate change, biodiversity loss, zoonotic diseases related to deforestation, and the loss of forest resources.
Living Forests: Awarded to the film that most effectively showcases the rich diversity and complexity of forest ecosystems and the species that inhabit them.
Forest Micro Movie: Awarded to the best forest-related film 5 minutes in run time or less.
Additional Award Categories may be added prior to the announcement of the finalists to honor as many worthy films as possible.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
There is no entry fee for submission, Any film completed after January 1st, 2016 related to terrestrial forests is eligible to enter, provided a streaming link to the full film is made available for free, educational, online streaming either freely or by request as part of the 2021 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forests hosted by Jackson Wild on the Eventive Platform. Submissions in all languages are welcomed. Programs in a language other than English must be subtitled in English for presentation to the judges and for streaming as part of the World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Forests.
Eligible entries must complete an online submission form via www.jacksonwild.org.
For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact:
UNDP, Sangita Khadka, +1 212 906 5043, [email protected]
CITES Secretariat: Francisco Pérez, +41 22 917 1447, [email protected],
Jackson Wild: Abbey Greene, +1 307 200 3286, [email protected]