Among the winners (including groups pictured below) are, top row from left, Justyna Ośka (The Empathy Gap, Poland), Celina Ren (Speed Bumps Ahead, California), Nicole Scimeca (Higher Ground, Illinois), and Sofian Chouaib (Make a Wildlife Documentary in Front of Your Home, France). Second row from left, Lucia Lecour (Biophilia: The Way Forward, Florida), Lara Gribbin (The Reserve, Australia), Savanna Osei (Biophilia: The Way Forward, Florida) and Yilang Chen (Power Plant Power Plant I Love You, New York). Bottom row from left, Joshua Chan, Sophia Faraone, and Christina Labban (all of Speed Bumps Ahead, California).
By Lisa Biehle Files
See a futuristic battle over the last available fresh water resource, peer at wildlife living in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, hear an ironic love song about a polluting power plant, and more. View all 10 winning short films from the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, in person at Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago, or online virtually anywhere in the world. Be ready to stretch your imagination and expand your understanding of going green. A special online screening for those in Asia/Pacific will also be available.
Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host this event, chatting briefly with winners before their films premiere.
The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest asks students from age 8 to 25 to create a 3- to 8-minute environmental film that inspires change or action. Animated or stop-motion films can be a minimum of 45 seconds long. A jury of 33 film and/or environmental experts as well as youth leaders from Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program evaluated close to 400 films this season.
Among the top ten winning films are animations, documentaries, and music videos from as close as Illinois, Florida, New York, and California and as far away as Ukraine, France, Poland and Australia. Students from 58 countries and 35 US states entered their films.
The top 10 winners are:
Sofian Chouaib
POST-GRAD AWARD
“Make a Wildlife Documentary in Front of Your Home” (3.5 min)
$1,000 + $1,000 matching gift donated to Wildcare
SOFIAN CHOUAIB
Graduate, l'Université Panthéon Sorbonne
Paris, France
There is abundant wildlife in the vacant lot adjacent to Sofian’s home in Arcueil, France, just outside of Paris. In this urban context, he discovers two furtive foxes surviving in an area surrounded by a highway, a bus route, a football field, and an apartment building. Through punchy editing and gentle humor, Soufian helps us see that nature is at our doorstep, if we just take the time to notice.
“Through my short film, I wanted to challenge the perception that nature only exists in remote or protected areas by showing how it persists, quietly and resiliently, within our cities and suburbs,” explains Sofian. “I believe film has the power to shift perspectives and inspire coexistence, and I hope this project can spark curiosity, empathy, and respect for the wild beings who share our urban spaces.”
Nicole Scimeca worries about the future of the planet in “Higher Ground”
Nicole Scimeca
SALLY STOVALL AWARD FOR CREATIVITY
“Higher Ground” (3 min)
1,000 scholarship + $1,000 matching gift
donated to Greenpeace
NICOLE SCIMECA
Senior, Maine South High School
Park Ridge, Illinois
(just started at University of Southern California)
In this high-energy music video, the climate clock counts down while Nicole plays electric guitar and sings Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” Via special effects, she stands on melting glaciers, materializes amid wildfires, scales the Trump Tower, and spins the planet on her index finger. The climate clock suddenly reverses course due to individual actions taken by her along with her cohorts, such as riding bikes, reading books about conservation, and marching against climate change.
“I am a strong believer in art inspiring activism,” Nicole asserts. “As a filmmaker, I want to provoke thought and bring ideas to the forefront for discussion.”
Lara Gribbin
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY AWARD
“The Reserve” (6.5 min)
$1,000 scholarship + $1,000 matching gift
donated to Surfrider
LARA GRIBBIN
Senior, Freshwater Senior Campus
New South Wales, Australia
(just started at University of Sydney)
Cabbage Tree Bay, just one and a half miles from Sydney, Australia, is a protected, ‘No Take’ marine sanctuary. Lara interviews three people impacted by this aquatic reserve: Guy, who records the ocean temperature and then creates chalk art for the community with the daily temp number; Harriet, a film producer and underwater photographer; and Tully, a professional surfer. Over 160 species thrive in this area that has been protected for over 20 years. The beauty of the underwater marine life and the joy of the people who swim and surf are evident in this upbeat film about the impact of conservation.
Spreading the “No Take” concept is Lara’s stated goal: “By submitting my film into this film festival, I hope people around the world can see the beauty that can live in protected areas to try and spark worldwide changes for more marine parks.”
ANIMATION AWARD TIE
“S.O.U.R.C.E” (5 min)
$500 + $500 matching gift donated to AmeriCares
ALEXANDER ANDRE, LOUIS BONNAUD, ADRIEN GOULOUBI, MATHIEU HEBRARD, PIERRE LOPEZ, ANTON MARKOV, EVANA MINGSISOUPHANH, MAXENCE PORELLI, LUDOVIC VACHER
Graduates, School Top Trades Artistique ESMA
Montpellier, France
On planet Airon, two rivals fight over the final water source available. A young representative for the large corporation S.O.U.R.C.E goes up against an older, scrappy, local in a clash to the finish. Each man fights from inside a robotic machine until they are forced to vacate and view the dire consequences of their battle.
Writes the animation team: “Our film, S.O.U.R.C.E., is about war and its impact on the environment. Water is used as a vector to show the violence and humanity that hides behind a mask (the robots) to fight, but in the end, the characters end up losing everything, even the reason they were fighting. This reflects the potential future that we all share if we continue this way.”
From “Empathy Gap” by Justyna Ośka
Justyna Ośka
ANIMATION AWARD TIE
“Empathy Gap” (4 min)
$500 + $500 matching gift donated to
Mercy for Animals
JUSTYNA OSKA
Graduate, Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology
Warsaw, Poland
Graduate, National Film School
Łódź, Poland
In Justyna’s film, a young woman travels on what appears to be a leisure trip. The viewer sees brief scenes of exquisite beauty such as fields of flowers, snow falling, and marine life under the ocean as the narrator explains that we all seek love and life to the fullest. Later the transport turns crowded and dark, and we sympathize with the woman’s sense of fear and powerlessness. The ending holds a surprise.
Writes Justyna, “My film delves into the often-overlooked similarities between humans and farm animals, shedding light on the shared capacity for emotion, pain, and the desire for freedom. Through this lens, the film critiques the practices of slaughterhouses, not only from an ethical standpoint but also from an environmental perspective.”
From left, Christina Labban, Joshua Chan, Sophia Faraone, and Celina Ren of “Speed Bumps Ahead.”
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM AWARD from
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER
“Speed Bumps Ahead” (5.5 min)
$500
CELINA REN, SOPHIA FARAONE, CHRISTINA LABBAN, AND JOSHUA CHAN
Juniors, Saratoga High School
Saratoga, California
(starting senior year)
This four-person team examines the history of transportation in our country, tracing the transition from walkable communities with horses, buggies, and streetcars to cities structured around the automobile. Negatives include the fact that 42,000 people are killed every year on our roads, while the average American spends 4.3 years in a car.
The team uses historical film clips and dynamic, animated graphics and illustrations to emphasize their points. They also interview four experts who support the return to walkable/bikeable cities.
“Transportation in the United States is often overlooked, but it is the cause of massive pollution, congestion, oil use, and pedestrian casualties,” Celina explains in their submission. “By entering the One Earth Young Filmmakers contest, our team dreams of informing people of the history and issues concerning America's reliance on cars, and the roads built around it.”
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM AWARD from JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE
“The Dishwasher Quest” (8 min)
$500
BEYE SCHOOL GREEN TEAM
Grades K to 5, William Beye Elementary School
Oak Park, Illinois
Beye Elementary School used silverware until their dishwasher broke two years ago. At that point, the school reverted to using plastic utensils, and no plans were made to fix or replace the dishwasher. The Student Green Team was concerned about all the single-use plastic entering the waste stream from the lunch room, so they decided to make a documentary film to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem and how important it was to get a new dishwasher.
To start, they counted the plastic sporks used during one lunch period. The number was 144, which meant that their school was trashing 26,000 sporks each year. Across 10 schools in the district, they calculated the number was almost 390,000. The students then used this data to actively lobby the school district to approve a new dishwasher.
In their contest submission, the Student Green Team divulges: “We made our film because we wanted people to see how much students can do when we care about something deeply. We wanted to show that kids have voices that matter. We’re not too young to understand the problem—and we’re definitely not too young to be part of the solution.”
Lucia Lecour and Savanna Osei
HIGH SCHOOL AWARD
“Biophilia: The Way Forward” (6 min)
$350 + $350 matching gift donated to Friends of the Everglades
SAVANNA OSEI AND
LUCIA LECOUR
Juniors, Pine Crest School
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
(starting senior year)
In their documentary, Savanna and Lucia explore biophilic design through two compelling examples: green roofs at the University of Miami’s Lakeside Village and flood-resilience planting in Miracle Mile located in Coral Gables, Florida. In each case, they interview experts to illustrate how biophilia reconnects people with nature and enhances urban environments.
“Biophilia and biophilic design truly are the future,” Lucia and Savanna posit in their submission. “In a world where constant development and technological progress are driving a wedge between people and the planet, we must do our part to unite the two once more. This film is meant to raise awareness to that end and show that nature can improve our lives and our cities in incredible ways. We can learn so much from the natural world!”
From “Power Plant Power Plant I Love You” by Yilang Chen
Yilang Chen
MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARD
“Power Plant Power Plant I Love You” (3.5 min)
$200 + $200 matching gift donated to Environmental Law and Policy Center
YILANG CHEN
8th Grader, Stephen A Halsey Junior High School
Forest Hills, New York
(just started 9th Grade at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art)
Yilang created this stop-motion, animated, music video based on a city she visited where her parents once lived together. In her refrain, she ironically sings about her love for the thermal power plant, when the opposite is true. “Look up and see your ferocity. Grey days all year round,” Yilang laments. “I can’t escape your plunder.”
The stop-motion line drawings are simple, using primarily black, white, gray and blue. A butterfly tries to survive the gray skies but is metaphorically chased away by smokestacks with wings.
Yilang starts 9th grade at LaGuardia High School for Music and Art this fall. In her contest submission, she came right to the point about why she entered the contest: “I think the world should be cleaner.”
From left, “Pure Water” filmmakers": Ilana Rusnak, Nini Tsentradze, Vsevolod Abrakhmanov, instructor Tetyana Fedorutsa, Varvara Vasilieva, Mariia Verenchanska, Zlatoslava Sribna
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AWARD
“Pure Water” (2 min)
$100 + $100 matching gift donated to Waterkeeper Alliance
ZLATOSTAVA SRIBNA, MARIA VERENCHANSKA, VSEVOLOD ABRAKHAMANOV, EMMA IVANOCHKO, ILANA RUSNAK, NINI TSENTERADZE, AND VARVARA VASYLYEVA
Creative Studio Cool Kids
Khotyn, Chernivtsi, Ukraine
A claymation stop-motion prince eats candy on the beach, throwing the wrappers on the ground with abandon. Some of these wrappers wind up in the ocean where a mermaid wakes up to find a wrapper floating in front of her face. The candy wrapper ignites her ire, and she scolds the prince, telling him he doesn’t respect nature.
Taking her criticism to heart, the prince changes his ways and cleans up all his wrappers. The mermaid happily rewards the prince by giving him a beautiful piece of gleaming jewelry from the ocean.
“Our main motivation for participating in the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest is the desire to draw attention to the importance of preserving the purity of our planet's water resources,” writes Teyana, the Creative Studio Cool Kid instructor. “‘Pure Water’ was created by young talents as a call for a responsible attitude towards nature and its riches. This competition is a great opportunity to share our message with a wider audience, inspire others to environmental action and show how young people can influence global environmental issues through art.”
Thank you to our jury of 33 experts in sustainability and film.
Learn more here.
The call for entries for 2026 will open soon on Film Freeway. The deadline is June 25. See full details here.
An article about One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Honorable Mention Winners will appear in the September eNews. They are:
Post-Grad Animation
“Hymns of a Tiny World: The Birds of New Zealand,” by Izabella Anguiano- Jacobs, California
“Thaniye (Alone),” by Anavadya M S, India
University
“If I Could Hear the Whales Sing,” by Angie Chay-Arana, Connecticut
“Adrift: Forgiving the Flood,” by Aayas Joshi, North Carolina
“Minara,” by Bradley Hogan, Australia, about Bangladesh
High School
“Is It Worth It?” by Summit Story Olson, Minnesota
“Catharsis,” by Mila Mankoč Šolar, Slovenia
Middle School
“Trash,” by a group of 5 students from the Chameleon Workshop, Belgium