Vulcan Productions helps create stories to inspire people to move the planet towards a better future. In 2016, the Film4Climate Global Video Competition invited aspiring filmmakers to express their vision for a sustainable future by creating a short film or video about climate action. We recently talked to German filmmaker Benjamin Pfohl to hear what inspired him to make Eternal Summer, the lessons he learned and how climate change is impacting his life. 

Benjamin Pfohl

  What inspired you to make this film?

First of all, I wanted to do my part in preventing climate change and I wanted to do so with what I can do best, through filmmaking. I wanted people to get aware of what is at stake. After watching many other climate films, which mostly address their audiences with information about the matter, I wanted to do something different. I think to change a person’s mind, it has to come from the heart. So, I confronted the audience with an emotional, dystopian vision of a world past climate change and combined it with a fictional, contrary speech of how we think about the future today.

  Why is climate change important to you? 

The world is full of conflicts and problems and will always be, but living on this planet is the one thing where life itself starts. It’s the one thing that will stay. So I think the most important thing is to keep this world safe and vivid. I see mankind more as a guest on this planet and therefore we need to behave like such. It is a symbiotic connection and we need to do all that is possible to protect it.

  What is one thing that you wish people knew about your region of the world and how it is being affected by climate change? 

I am lucky to live in a region that isn't affected by obvious climate change as much as others are. Still, even central Europe is affected by climate change and the harmful actions people and companies do to nature such as shaping rivers to canals and remodeling whole landscapes through open-pit mining. There is a change going on and I hope that we stop these actions in the near future. 

  What is one thing you learned from embarking on this film?

Filmmaking is a very expensive endeavor and getting this film done without the needed budget was a tough thing at first. Going deeper into production, we found so many people who cared about climate change that they were willing to spend their time or money on the project. I learned that a lot of people actually care about this world, which gave me hope that there is a change to come.

  What is one thing people can do to make a difference?

First, we need global acknowledgment that climate change is happening. Then, everyone needs to find the things they can change to do their part in preventing it. As a filmmaker, I used my craft to make Eternal Summer. And as a private person, I try to do the little things: I don’t own a car, but take public transportation or bike. For longer distances, I prefer going by bus or train instead of flying whenever possible. I use electricity from alternative energies and buy regional products whenever I can. But again, every single life gives different opportunities to act.

For promoting the knowledge, awareness, and value of nature, the Miguel Alemán A.C. Foundation honored Cinema Planeta (which for nine years has organized, among other activities, Mexico’s environmental Film Festival and the International Film Festival) with the XXII Environment and Ecology “Miguel Alemán Valdés” award.  

During the ceremony, Miguel Alemán Velasco, president of the Foundation, considered this as one of the main example programs that aim to stimulate talent and contribute to the improvement of the environment in the world.

Considering that Mexico’s natural resources are one of the main tourist attractions of the country, Alemán Velasco recognized the work of Cinema Planeta A.C., for its commitment towards environmental education and literacy and for its creativity to effectively communicate messages on ecological and sustainability awareness.

“There is an imminent threat to the future of our planet. Ideas are free and no wall can restrain nor limit them, but (Donald) Trump, the president of the United States, puts the planet at risk by wanting to revitalize the coal mining industry in his country. The negative impact of this action will have irreversible repercussions on the environment (…). Cinema Planeta, please, send him a few short films”, said Velasco.

The event celebrated the restless work of Cinema Planeta’s founders: Gustava M. Ballesté and Eleonora Isunza de Pech, who share “a strong message in favor of reversing the damages caused by climate change”, added Alemán Velasco.

Representing Cinema Planeta, Gustavo M. Ballesté receives the Environment and Ecology “Miguel Alemán Valdés” Award from Miguel Alemán A.C. Foundation. Photo Credits: Juan Boites/El Universal 

Convinced that cinema, art, and science are the best combination to raise awareness of issues of collective interest, Cinema Planeta seeks to emphasize the conservation of Planet Earth.

In this regard, Ballesté mentioned that the initiative was born in 2009, captivating the interest of nine thousand people. “In 2012 we reached the twenty thousand spectators and in 2016 we registered seventy-four thousand attendees to the different activities that we carried out throughout the year, which means that there is interest in these issues.”

Cinema Planeta, which is part of the Green Film Network, a network of worldwide environmental festivals, organizes not only Mexico's International Film and Environment Festival, but it is also responsible for cine-debates and tours across the country’s twenty-five States”.  

According to the co-director of Cinema Planeta, its work does not only consist in exhibiting movies, but this year they took a chance and went the extra mile to produce its own film called “Nahui Ollin, Sol de movimiento” (premiered at FICG32 – Guadalajara International Film Festival – last March), which will be opening the ninth edition of the festival next May 2nd.

José Sarukan, President of the award committee, mentioned the importance and social value of this prize “We are aware of the importance of educating society to care for the environment. This is not a problem of biologists or geographers, or any other related profession, this is a problem concerning everyone”, he said.

“Miguel Alemán Valdés” Award was instituted in 1992, as a decision of the member of the foundation, to honor the memory of Miguel Alemán Valdés and to continue with his legacy of social commitment for Mexico.

Its main goal is to encourage the advance of knowledge towards respectfully treating the physical and biological environment of the country, by recognizing the scientific and technological work put into action for the conservation and the sustainable management of the country’s natural resources.

Banner Photo Credits to Style by Shockvisual

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched Young Champions of the Earth, a new initiative to spot young, talented people between the ages of 18 and 30 and support their inspiring ideas to save the environment.

Young Champions of the Earth is a global stage for young people to showcase technological inventions and innovative business models that improve our planet's health. The initiative aims to counter the negative discourse on the environment and inspire the next generation of environmental leaders.

Young Champions of the Earth is sponsored by Covestro, one of the world’s leading polymer companies and a strong proponent of innovation for environmental sustainability.

Each year, six young people – one from each of UN Environment’s global regions – will be named Young Champions of the Earth. These winners will each receive US$15,000 in seed funding as well as intensive training and tailored mentoring to help bring their big environmental ideas to life.

The winners will be selected by a global jury that includes UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim and Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas. Winners will be invited to attend the Champions of the Earth Gala Dinner, to be held in Nairobi in December 2017.

The application period opens on 22 April and will close on 18 June.

- Erik Solheim, UN Environment Executive Director

- Patrick Thomas, Covestro CEO

MIT’s Climate CoLab, a quickly growing community of nearly 90,000 members worldwide sourcing innovative proposals on how to address climate change, is seeking volunteer Fellows. In 2017, Climate CoLab is running a suite of online contests on topics such as energy supplies, carbon pricing, land use change, buildings, adaptation, shifting behaviors and more. Fellow roles available and how to apply below:

  Contest Fellows are graduate students, Ph.D. candidates or professionals with expertise in topics related to climate change, and are eager to support a diverse online community in promoting and developing new, creative solutions. They work with senior experts, explore issues of interest to them, connect with relevant organizations and interested citizens internationally, and take a leadership position in this fast-growing and innovative project. This role requires a strong and ongoing commitment for the duration of the contest (a minimum of 2 - 3 hours/week between May – December 2017). Fellowships can be completed virtually and are unpaid. MIT's Climate CoLab is recruiting for two types of contest fellows: outreach and evaluation. For details on each of these roles, and to apply before April 30, please click here.

  Impact Assessment Fellows take a leadership role in quantitatively analyzing and certifying the climate impact of proposals submitted to the platform. MIT's Climate CoLab is accepting expressions of interest from graduate students or professionals with experience in computer-based modeling, and/or an interest in mentoring others in these topics, who can devote 5 hours per week from September to November 2017. Fellows will receive training. Positions can be completed virtually and are unpaid. For more details and to apply, please see here.

The goal of the Climate CoLab is to harness the collective intelligence of thousands of people from all around the world to address global climate change.

Inspired by systems like Wikipedia and Linux, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence has developed this crowdsourcing platform where people work with experts and each other to create, analyze, and select detailed proposals for what to do about climate change.