Development and Climate Days Film Competition 2011

4th annual D&C International Film Competition sponsored by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN)
We’re pleased to announce that Ripples, a film about climate change and disaster management in Bangladesh, is the winner of our Development and Climate film competition.

Winning film

Ripples: Climate Change and Disaster Management in Bangladesh, by Soren Vestergaard Neilsen, for RDRS Bangladesh

An organisation is helping Bangladeshi villages prepare for flooding during the monsoon season by helping them organise emergency response systems and build flood defences.

One of Franny Armstrong's top four films from the competition, Ripples was chosen by four out of the five judges as this year's best entry.

Comments from our panel of international film judges:

Laurie Goering - "The images... are haunting. But what made it the piece for me was the great range of examples of how resilience is being built in a country, both extremely at risk and at the forefront of innovation in resilience."

Jorisna Bonthuys - "This film has clear messaging around climate resilience. It is well constructed and inspiring. The spirit of the community and their harsh reality got captured."

Hannah Reid - "The upbeat focus on humour... and the scenes of local theatre and smiling faces building coastal defences provide a lovely, humorous, positive angle to the film, while not undermining the gravitas of the situation or the seriousness of solutions proposed."

Fayyaz Ahmad Khan - "I loved this film. High production value, great improvisation and good content... I feel Ripples in its overall impact is better than all the other films."

The winner will receive a Panasonic Lumix GH2 Digital Camera and a Rode Videomic Video Microphone.

The films uploaded here are YouTube versions of the submitted competition-length films. All films entered into competition and judged were of the permitted 5 minute length.

Justin Benn, organiser and facilitator of the Development and and Climate Days film competition introduces the top four films this year.

Commended films

Carbon for Water, by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez was Highly Commended.

Carbon for Water, by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez, carbonforwaterfilm.com

90% of people in Kenya’s Western Province have to boil their water, using fuel wood, to make it safe to drink. A new carbon reduction project aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 2 million tonnes each year by providing 900,000 homes with water filters paid for through carbon credits. (this video is no longer available)

Two other films were commended: Powerful Hands, by CARE International and
Vital Roads: Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change, Epi Island, Vanuatu, produced by SPREP.

Powerful Hands, by CARE International (www.careclimatechange.org)

A film asking viewers to make wise choices to adapt to climate change and to “help the planet and its people.”

Vital Roads Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change, Epi Island, Vanuatu, produced by SPREP

Extreme weather events are affecting the roads and transport structure that the Evi people need to get their produce to market and to get to the hospital. A project is looking at redesigning the island’s infrastructure in order to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

All the films uploaded here are YouTube versions of the submitted competition-length films. All films entered into competition and judged were of the permitted 5 minute length.

Other shortlisted entries

The films uploaded here are YouTube versions of the submitted competition-length films. All films entered into competition and judged were of the permitted five minute length.

Coping with resource scarcity, Philippines, by lifemosiac.net

Climate change can lead to a scarcity of natural resources and conflict. This film explores an equitable water irrigation system developed and managed by a local community in the Philippines. 

Falling deep inside, by Carlos Acosta and Zenaida Yenowsky, Arts Igniting Minds

The film features abstract dance and audio. It can only be viewed on YouTube.

Climate-Smart Agriculture: A triple win, by the World Bank Institute

The film explains how “Climate-smart” agricultural practises can help agriculture be part of the climate change solution.

Women power in overcoming the drought, by women from the Nanighi community, Kenya, through Care Kenya and the Adaptation Learning programme

Women from Nanighi, Kenya have had to look for other ways to earn a living as their pasture land decreases and livestock mortality rates have increased. They’ve formed a savings group to set up small businesses to diversify their income.

A plain plan by the ClimateConscious Programme, ResourceAfrica UK, with Ujamaa Community Resources Team and Tanzania Natural Resources Forum

A community visits their ‘easement’, which is used to graze wild animals and livestock. Income from tourism helps contribute to the village income, but even it is suffering from a lack of rainfall and the community is having to manage the use of the land very carefully.

Britain’s first solar town by Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN)

A group of residents living in Wadebridge, Cornwall have ambitions for the town to generate 30% of Wadebridge’s energy consumption from renewable sources by 2015.