Global Cool Foundation

BIFA and Global Cool join forces to harness the power of the screen to promote greener living

Monday, December 6th, 2010 | Global Cool

Global Cool is delighted to be working with the British Independent Film Awards to promote green living. Over the coming year we will be working together to develop an initiative that will deliver essential advice and information to film makers on how they can harness the powerful influence of their films to inspire their audience to take positive steps towards a greener lifestyle.

In 2009, the UK Film Council reported that UK cinema attendance had reached a seven-year high, with 173.5 million box office admissions. We want to leverage the potential of that reach and empower film makers with the knowledge and insight that can make a real difference in helping to create a more environmentally friendly society.

This doesn’t mean developing films that specifically focus on the climate and sustainability agenda, but a more subtle approach that introduces green behaviours seamlessly within the narrative of the picture; for example by showing people riding bikes or simply recycling at relevant points within the film. Reference points such as these help to normalise pro-environmental behaviour in a non-preachy way, making the action more socially acceptable to the viewing public.

US television shows such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Desperate Housewives are great examples of this type of approach. With the women of Wisteria Lane regularly using shopping bags that carry the recycling logo, and the lead character in 10 Things…, Kat Stratford, running her car on vegetable oil. We are keen to see how we can translate this approach to the UK film industry, to create a positive environmental impact that has the potential to go above and beyond solely reducing the carbon footprint of the production itself.

Not that this isn’t important of course, but imagine the positive effects of influencing the millions of people that pass through the UK box office every year towards greener living. The potential to lower the 75 per cent of emissions that individuals can influence through their everyday activity is massive.

Jointly, Global Cool and BIFA want to furnish film makers with the necessary tools and insight to make these highly impactful decisions, and through the power of the screen, showcase the simple actions that individuals can take to live a greener lifestyle.

Look out for our activity over the coming year and if you are interested in being a part of this, please do get in touch. Together we can make a difference.

info@globalcool.org

Check out our photos from BIFA over on the Global Cool site

Tags: BIFA, British Independent Film Awards, UK Film Council

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