20/06/2016 - The fifth edition of the gathering presented a huge number of inspiring films about eco-innovations

l-r: Joanna Gallardo (Ecoprod adviser) and the Continental Productions team: Manuel Morales, Aline Martinais and Jonathan Darona

More than 160 filmmakers, environmentalists, energy consultants, politicians and sustainable development experts attended the fifth edition of the Deauville Green Awards on 15-16 June. The festival presented 320 public-awareness advertisements and publicity films, corporate communication and institutional information films, and documentaries and TV programmes, across 14 categories that deal with issues such as sustainability and eco-innovations.

“Deauville is the place where sustainable solutions and ecology are discussed,” stated Georges Pessis, president of the Deauville Green Awards. “The films that we are showing are the results of the actions that are carried out.”

Among the Deauville Award winners was Biocoop – La Campagne Eco Responsable by Jason Freites, which received the Ecoprod Prize. “The production was very sustainable,” reported Joanna Gallardo, Ecoprod adviser. The green measures included the use of a bicycle-driven generator, the sourcing of local food, making use of available light and transportation by train, as well as setting up accommodation in an eco-labelled hotel.

The Grand Prix for Best Documentary went to Red Dirt Road by Rodney Rascona, which follows the life of a young woman in Cambodia. “I am sharing this award with all the filmmakers and clients who helped to make this film happen,” said the British director. “We have to create stories that have a vision and lead to a better understanding of the problems in other parts of the world.”

“Our festival itself is environmentally responsible,” concluded Pessis and Deauville Green Awards vice-president Francois Morgant. “At the end of the festival, we always do a carbon calculation and work on solutions to bring down the carbon footprint of our event.”