EFFM ‘10.

The motivation to put together a film festival in Melbourne focusing on environmental matters came after a few years of living in the US, where some friends of ours had been involved in organising a new environmental film festival in New Haven, Connecticut. We saw brilliant films such as Food, Inc and Age of Stupid, and what was even greater than the films themselves was the discussions people would have afterwards. Debating the issues, weighing up pros and cons, figuring out the best way to get involved, how to "be the change you want to see in the world", to quote Gandhi.

Environmental documentaries are often confronting, because they make you aware of so many problems in the world that you didn't know existed, but having then been enlightened you are able to make decisions and take action towards solving those problems. As world-famous scientist and activist David Suzuki once said, "nothing could be more important than the potential educational value of environmental film.

Upon returning we noticed that, despite its jam-packed cultural calendar, Melbourne seemed to be lacking a film festival that would simultaneously inform and inspire people specifically on environmental issues. And so EFFM was born. We hope you will see the films on offer here, and then choose to be part of the solution to the problems they discuss. For our inaugural year, we have selected films covering a range of issues: climate refugees, the perils of bottled water, political and social unrest caused by years of oil extraction in the Niger Delta, dumpster diving for perfectly good food that has been thrown out, the merits of organic farming, ocean acidification, colony collapse disorder, and how plastics are wrecking our environment and our bodies.

Prepare to be confronted, prepare to have to think, but most importantly of all, prepare to take action. These films present serious problems, but often provide simple answers. Sometimes all it takes is a change in mind-set and a bit of political will, and if we can help generate that, then our work here is done.

Hope to see you at EFFM 2010.

- Festival Director | Nicholas Aberle

Environmental impact strategy

To walk the talk, we've developed an environmental impact strategy to determine and improve our footprint every year. We will:

Sustainable procurement

Select catering and printing suppliers who share our environmental values and who have implemented methods to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

Waste management

Reduce, reuse and recycle materials used to run the festival.

Promotion of behaviour change

Promote more environmental forms of behaviour at the festival including rewards (eg. spot prizes) for people who take environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as public transport and cycling.

Calculate the carbon impact of the festival

Calculate the carbon emissions associated with running the festival, including the use of electricity, gas, paper, water, waste generation and catering. These emission will be offset to support Australia's transition to a low carbon economy.