A man in a red parka screams and runs along a beach. A few metres away, another man looks at the sea, tapping on his phone. He hears the shout but does not react. Yet the man in red continues to run towards him, still screaming, getting closer and closer, and crashes into him.
The message being: Climate change. We hear about it. We see it coming. And yet some people continue to do nothing.
“Scream“, directed by Gonzague Legout, won the French Grand Prize at the 2019 Mobile Film Festival, which was dedicated to climate action. “Scream” is a film that is both funny and serious but also reminds us that despite all the information available to us on climate change, we are not doing enough.
All 50 one-minute films were screened on 3 December in Paris to an audience of 500 people who went from laughter to anxiety and despondency to hope. Once again, the Mobile Film Festival in partnership with UNRIC, has both promoted young film talent and raised awareness of the major issues of this century. With more than 25 countries represented in the final selection, the Mobile Film Festival brings together creative and inspirational people from all over the world to focus on a common theme.
The International Grand Prize went to Iranian filmmaker, Fatima Nofeli, who, through her film “Wallet“, imagined a world where water has become so scarce and precious that it has become the country’s currency. You pay 150 millilitres for your taxi and the city stops when it rains. Money, for a few moments, “falls from sky”.
Three plastic bottles discussing the best holiday spots by the sea also won over the jury. Christopher Axworthy and Robert Peacock’s British film “Vacation” was awarded the prize for best scenario.
“Everything is fine” concerns a young girl who comments on the rise of temperatures on social networks from her living room while the world collapses around her. Actress Florence Fauquet received the interpretation prize.
A special jury prize was awarded to the Brazilian film “Statment” by David Murad, which denounces the gap between world leaders’ speeches and the actions necessary to avoid climate catastrophe.
Between portentous messages, climate solutions and occasional humour, these 50 one-minute films allow different voices to be heard, speaking different languages, but all saying the same thing: to avoid the worst, we must act now.
The full list of winners is available here, and the entire 2019 selection can be viewed on YouTube.