CULMEA: Film and Environmental Education takes place between 6 and 10 September, in Brasov, and is the first film festival that aims to use film education in support of children and young people who want to know more about the environment and the climate crisis and provide them with a tool for eco-friendly debate and engagement.
The first edition of CULMEA will bring to the neighborhoods of Brașov (Schei, Centru, Răcădău) short films awarded at major festivals, as part of screenings for preschoolers and schoolchildren, with free admission, between 6 and 8 September. The short films in CULMEA program have been selected and awarded at renowned international film festivals, including Cinekid Amsterdam, Berlin Film Festival — Berlinale Generation or Zlín Film Festival for Children and Youth.
Screenings during the week will be followed by discussions with the public on environmental issues raised in the films, moderated by experienced educators. At the same time, there will be related activities for children: gardening and compost workshops, lessons on sustainable agriculture and food wasteand workshops giochi di bordowith environmental themes supported at the Walnut Garden (Schei neighborhood), the Dining Room in Răcădău (Magnolia Complex, Răcădău district), George Barițiu County Library — Branch for Children and Youth (Centru district).
On the weekend of 9 — 10 September, the public is invited to the Patria Cinemateca and the Reduta Cultural Center for a feature film program dedicated to children and adolescents aged 7 to 18 years. Among the films in the CULMEA selection are She-Hero/Mimi(7 years +, directed by Mira Fornay), recently Awarded at the Berlin Film Festivalin the section of young audiences. Mimi tells the story of a brave little girl who goes on a journey through the woods to find her lost wig — a pretext to develop a contemporary fairy tale about childhood and the strong connection children have with nature.
For the teenage audience, the selection includes The Horizon, directed by Emilie Carpentier (14 years +), Winner of the Cinema of the Future Awardat the European Film Festival in Seville, Spain 2021. On the outskirts of Paris, where residential projects appear directly in the field (sound familiar?) A young woman named Adja discovers what environmental activism means and the effort to join the struggle of your generation.
Not to be missed is the British documentary. The future, do we eat everything today?(14 years +), narrated by actress Kate Winslet. A cinematic journey around the world, the documentary takes us through the Amazon forests, the Taiwanese mountains, the Mongolian desert, the Norwegian fjords or the Scottish coasts, complemented by interviews with renowned scientists and personalities, who reveal harsh truths and tackle the most pressing issue of our generation — ecological collapse.
“CULMEA meets the questions that children and young people (anyway) ask. In 2022, the prize for the best European youth film, awarded by a jury of participants aged 12 to 14 from dozens of European cities, went to a film about environmental problems, discovered by two teenagers in the role of investigators. So, yes, young people are in tune with what's going on and we want to create a friendly environment for them to explore. The festival is dedicated to young audiences, but by no means limited to children and adolescents. The selection of short and feature films makes up an offer for all age categories. From non-verbal animations, suitable for preschoolers, to suspenseful adventures in which nature is either a mysterious challenge or needs all the support to be saved from destruction. A kernel of comedy runs through the entire selection, because it has been proven time and time again that humor is the magic ingredient behind solving many problems in this world.” declares Raluca Bugnar, artistic director CULMEA.
The festival focuses this year on creating a community of children, young people and their support structures (families, relatives, friends, educators) that is receptive to information about the climate crisis and eager for knowledge and tools for responsible and sustainable living.
“The climate crisis is an issue that has reached a critical point, of which the younger generation is very aware. Statistics show that most children in Romania are interested in environmental issues and eager to adopt the necessary changes for a sustainable lifestyle, but less than half consider that they receive sufficient information about climate and environmental issues. Through CULMEA we set out to create a context for information, discussion and imagination on the climate crisis, using film as a tool for representation, knowledge and openness to the world. It is a festival dedicated to all members of the extended family, from children, parents, relatives, to friends and educators. In addition, we are pleased that the first edition is being held in partnership with the City Hall of Brașov and at the same time with the Green Cities Forum (FOV) 2023, the largest event in Romania dedicated to environmental sustainability”, announced Sabina Baciu, CULMEA Festival Director.
At the first edition of CULMEA, adolescents between 16 and 18 years old can participate in the environmental journalism workshop (Super) Natural Writing, supported by Patricia Cârtog, reporter at new.infoand collaborator Scene9, which will teach them how to use writing to be part of change, by developing an article idea that they can Pitch-Move on to publications. Participation is free, by registration herein.
Also on the last day of the festival, teenagers aged 14 to 18 are invited to the workshop Activism for all ages: how can young people get involved in the climate justice movement?, during which Marian Ignat, communication specialist WWF Romania, will identify the most pressing problems faced by their generation and the most effective methods of involvement in the climate justice movement.
CULMEA program is available herein.
Tickets are available on Eventbook.
Follow the news and on Facebook.
The festival “CULMEA: Film and Environmental Education” is organized by the Oricum Association
Project funded by: Brașov City Hall
Part of the Green Cities Forum
Partners spaces:Walnut Garden, “George Barițiu” County Library Brașov, Răcădău Dining Room, Brasov Philharmonic, Reduta Cultural Center
Partners:Corona Cultural Consortium, Kunstadt Association, Metropolitan Agency for Sustainable Development Brasov, Typography, Micile Bucurii Association, La Fântâna
Main Media Partner: Radio Guerrilla
Media partners:Coresi, Agerpres, Days and Nights, iQAdS, Cinemap, GLAMOR, Spotmedia, The Metropolis Newspaper, Happ.ro, All About Romanian Cinema, MovieNews, Cinefan, filme-books.ro, new.info
