The 23th Edition of the International Environmental Film Festival arrives at the University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona turns, for the fifth year, in one of the official headquarters of the International Environmental Film Festival (FiCMA), the oldest one in the field, which celebrates its 23th edition. Entitled “El canvi està en marxa” (change is starting) the festival makes Barcelona the world capital of environmental conscience with the projection, from 3rd to 11th of November, of more than 145 films -documentaries and fiction- that can be watched in different places of the city.
The University of Barcelona turns, for the fifth year, in one of the official headquarters of the International Environmental Film Festival (FiCMA), the oldest one in the field, which celebrates its 23th edition. Entitled “El canvi està en marxa” (change is starting) the festival makes Barcelona the world capital of environmental conscience with the projection, from 3rd to 11th of November, of more than 145 films -documentaries and fiction- that can be watched in different places of the city.
FiCMA will bring some of the best environmental films from this last year to the University of Barcelona. In particular, from the 7th to 9th of November, the Faculties of Biology and Earth Sciences will hold the premiere for five short documentaries of the Official section, presented by members of the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBIO). Entrance is free for everyone. The objective of this collaboration is to bring the environmental reality closer to people and contributing to the awareness and consciousness through cinema and audiovisuals.
Three days of projections
The projections will start on Monday November 7, at 13 h, in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Earth Sciences (c. Martí i Franquès) with The Age of Man (France, 2015) by Dimitri Grimblat. The world entered a new era in which humans turned into the main source of energy: we call it Anthropocene or the Age of Man. The report explores this moment in history, which provoked the climate change. “Will we adapt to this new world created by ourselves?” is the doubt the film touches on. To find the answers, it goes back to the past to understand how old societies faced climate crisis and it speaks for new generations that try to find solutions to the environment dangers. The session will be presented by Xavier Ferrer, member of IRBio and professor at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the same University.
On the 8th and 9th of November the projections will move to the Faculty of Biology (Diagonal, 643). On Tuesday 8, at 10 h, the Aula Magna will screen Sonic Sea (United States, 2016), by Michelle Dougherty and Daniel Hinerfeld, in a special session presented by Àlex Aguilar, director of IRBio and professor at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences. Narrated by the Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams, the report tackles the dramatic impact of the industrial and military noise in oceans on whales and other marine species. Everything starts with the inexplicable death rate of several whale species in the Bahamas in March, 2000. While the mystery goes on, the report explores the critical role of sound in the sea and the sudden and dramatic changes human activity is making on the fragile acoustic habitat of the ocean. These changes threaten the capacity of whales and other marine species to survive.
The projections will end on Wednesday 9 with sessions in the morning and afternoon. At 13 h, there will be the screening of Crudo Paraíso (Spain, 2016) at room 1 of the Faulty of Biology -by Blanca Ordoñez, about oil prospections in the waters of the Canary Islands, and the environmental dangers they involve. In 2012 the process authorizing the oil company Repsol to seek oil in areas near the Lanzarote and Fuerteventura was restarted -despite the negative response from citizens and the Govern of the Canary Islands. The film wonders why the Government of Spain has allowed these prospections for decades even though the international environmental experts warned about it, and the experts in law donʼt understand the behavior of the government allowing it instead of chasing energetic self-sufficiency.
In the afternoon there will be a double session at the Aula de Graus (bachelor room) of the Faculty of Biology, presented by Xavier Sans, member of IRBio. At 16 h, there will be the projection of 56 (Spain, Norway, Madagascar, 2016) by Marcos Huertas. In Soavinarivo, a small isolated village in Madagascar, children can only go to school if they get 56 kg of rice. The documentary follows the lives of three kids who struggle to get it, at the same time that it presents the Willka Project, a solidary initiative trying to solve this situation through the construction of 10 water wells, a school, a canteen and a shelter house.
At 16.30 h there will be the screening for Latin American Voices (Argentina, 2015) by Ignacio Robayna, in which he narrates the adventure that took him travelling the 5.500 kilometers that join Mexico with Panama. His objective: documenting the challenges that Mother Nature goes through in Latin America. 12 months of crossing the territory and 200 hours of recording are what gives life to five interesting histories that put the film together. Forgotten ancient cultures, global deforestation and GMOʼs, among others, are some of the conflicts of this trip.
With the collaboration with FiCMA, the University of Barcelona confirms its commitment to the environment and sustainability and supports cinema pedagogical values to inform and create environmental conscience.
Link to FiCMA schedule at the University of Barcelona
Link to FiCMA complete schedule
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