In her speech at the TIFF Tribute Awards, the annual fundraiser in support of the festival’s annual programming and its core mission, “transforming the way people see the world through film”, Cate Blanchett appealed to the film industry, calling for a greater commitment to environmental sustainability.
Promoting a more ecologically aware cinema, Blanchett declared “There is a moral obligation to make this change” and provocatively asked, “Where are the ecologists?”, emphasising the urgency of sustainability figures on sets. The environmental impact of film and television productions is an issue on which some organisations, production companies and film commissions in Italy are refining their sensitivity, translating it into virtuous practices that reduce waste and pollution.
In Italy, realities have recently sprung up that represent a point of reference for all those production companies aiming to be ‘sustainable’: Green film is the protocol recognised by the Italian Film Commission, an association of 20 Film Commissions, as the ‘shared tool and standard of reference for encouraging environmental sustainability on sets’. It is the evolution of T-Green Film, the brand that the Trentino Film Commission launched in 2016 to promote the environmental sustainability of film productions that choose the Trentino territory as a set for the making of their films, and represents the first Italian experience of environmental certification of film productions.
But the first to show sensitivity to this issue were the British with the Albert Protocol, an organisation founded in 2011, which provides support to productions and issues a certificate attesting to the eco-sustainability of a production. The aim is to have certified Carbon Free productions by 2030.
Back to Blanchett. In her speech, in addition to environmental sustainability, she called for greater inclusiveness in the film industry, to reiterate that sustainability is an all-round process. The actress concluded her speech by stating: “Greater inclusivity on set leads to less marginalised and more vibrant narratives”. She continued, “I am so aware of the extraordinary young women who are growing up behind me and who are blazing trails that stimulate and inspire me in incredible ways.” This quote from the actress was quoted on the TIFF Tribute Awards page.
📸 By Elena Ternovaja – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129434814
