The eighth edition of the Deauville Green Awards (12-13 June 2019) featured more than 420 documentaries, commercials and image films that dealt with a diverse range of subjects, such as climate change, innovation, transportation and eco-mobility, as well as energy transition. The main topic was established as biodiversity.

In their works, various filmmakers focused on the extreme greed that drives humans to exploit nature and kill animals. The Grand Prize for Best Documentary was awarded to Rhino Dollars by Olivia Mokiejewski, which deals with the dirty money that is made through the trading of rhino horns.

“We chose biodiversity as our main topic and created several events on this subject,” states Georges Pessis, honorary president of the Deauville Green Awards, who runs the festival together with François Morgant.

At a master class with a representative of the French Ministry of Culture, the participants discussed which regulations film crews should respect when they are shooting on a wildlife reserve. “Big crews cause trouble when they leave their heavy equipment all over the place, when they make noise and produce light,” says Marina Ezdiari, from Ecoprod. “Hopefully, we can come up with a factsheet that will be shared on a European level.”

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) France has produced several VR films about whales and birds, which allowed viewers to experience the environmental organisation’s work at close quarters. “We film our missions and bring the viewer into the thick of it via VR headsets,” says Michael Neveu, head of Digital Communication, WWF France.

Sustainability was also an issue for the Deauville Green Awards itself. “We have created a charter that includes various measures,” points out Laurence Lafiteau, producer of the event. This includes the banning of single-use plastic, and the incorporation of low-emission travel and accommodation for the team and participants, as well as the calculation of the carbon-emission footprint that has been offset.

The Ecoprod Award, which rewards sustainable filmmaking, went to the German film Laureus Sport for Good – Neeta’s Story by Simon Rost. “Unfortunately, we had to go to India by plane,” says producer Moritz Schreiner. Therefore, we reduced our crew to three people and offset the carbon footprint of our flight.”

French filmmakers Cyril Dion (Tomorrow [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]) and Laure Noualhat presented their new movie Après Demain in Deauville. “We want to picture a better world and show how life could be in that world,” underlines Dion. “That’s our responsibility as filmmakers.”

Here is the full list of award winners:

Grand Prize for Best Documentary Film
Rhino Dollars - Olivia Mokiejewski (France)

Grand Prize for Best Advertising Film
Aucune femme ne mérite de vivre dans la peur - Stéphane Goddard (France)

Grand Prize for Best Information Film
La Station Service - Les Parasites (France)

Ecoprod Special Award for Best Eco-responsible Production
Laureus Sport for Good – Neeta’s Story – Simon Rost (Germany)

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Après Demain - Cyril Dion and Laure Noualhat (France)