Author Tim Winton announced as Environmental Film Festival patron
Australian novelist Tim Winton joins Bob Brown as the Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA)’s patron this year.
Opening on September 29 in Melbourne, the festival will screen a total of 50 films across Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, Hobart and Launceston.
The announcement:
The Environmental Film Festival Australia (EFFA) is thrilled to announce its full program for 2016! Kicking off on Thursday 29th September in Melbourne with the Australian premiere of the fierce and gripping When Two Worlds Collide, the 2016 program has over 50 groundbreaking films scheduled for screening across Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston.
Highlights this year include the award winning Behemoth which takes us into the coal and iron mines of rural Mongolia, Death By Design, a disturbing investigation into technological obsolescence and the modern day dilemma of e-waste and the much anticipated local production Tunnel Vision – an explosive frontline account from opposing groups involved in Melbourne’s controversial East-West Link tunnel project and the role of sustainable transport in our city.
Common threads across this year’s program include the future of food resources and sustainable food sources with films Seed: The Untold Story, Bugs On The Menu and Sustainable, the health of our sea life Sonic Sea, which looks at the impact of noise pollution in our oceans and The Island And The Whales which includes footage from aboard the Sea Shepherd and opens up debate around animal rights and indigenous and cultural practices.
Festival Director Chris Gerbing says this year’s festival will be “matching big ideas, with big conversations… we will be inspiring collective action, challenging age-old wisdom, sharing solutions, highlighting the power of our own choices and celebrating the world around us.”
“Since we last met, we’ve seen globally historical moments in environmental decision making. But challenges amass and the future of planet Earth must remain in all of our focus and the subject of our enquiries, our activism and our aspirations.”
The rest of the EFFA program for 2016 explores ideas and questions around issues including climate change, the risk bees are facing and what impact that has on global ecological systems, mining and nuclear energy to name a few.
EFFA has also programed a number of special events including a Sustainable Feast featuring gourmet bugs(!), live panels discussions, filmmaker Q&A’s, an Education Program, and for the first time, an Industry Day for Australian filmmakers.
This year the EFFA is also proud to announce acclaimed Australian author Tim Winton as festival patron. Tim Winton believes a festival like EFFA is critical as “We haves so many stories to tell and hear and still such a lot of stuff to discover and pay attention to. Bring it on!”. He joins longtime environmental crusader Bob Brown as an EFFA patron.
Whether you are a card carrying greenie or green curious and want to explore an issue it’s now time to #giveaflick!
