Europe’s making green movies, what’s stopping us?

To spread this pro-environment initiative globally, on 29 June last, European Union in Bangladesh invited the organisation’s Film Commissioner, also a globally renowned Italian film maker, Alberto Battocchi, to conduct a special session called a masterclass on eco-friendly films. The Masterclass was held as part of the Bangladesh European Film festival, accessible through the website beuff.org, and was broadcast live from the Facebook pages of the Daily Prothom Alo as well as the European Union in Bangladesh.

Eight film enthusiasts participated in the event, moderated by Gopa Biswas Caesar – assistant professor at Dhaka University’s Department of Film, Television and Photography – after a highly competitive selection process.

Needless to add, this was organised keeping the current scenario of the climate crisis in mind. The online session provided a remarkable opportunity for emerging film directors to learn about green film production. According to Battochi, environmentally filmmaking involves several steps: choosing accommodation as close as possible, preferably within 10 km of the shooting location alongside using energy-efficient cars to reduce fuel consumption; saving energy by using LED lights; eliminating plastic from the catering services; selecting eco-friendly materials; managing waste through efficient segregation; and, communicating the significance of sustainable filmmaking by engaging film celebrities.