Out of 196 entries total, the following nine finalists will also be recognized for their Honorable Mention films, which will screen at a separate event in April, near Earth Day. In addition, a few of these films will be incorporated into the One Earth Film Festival as “trailers” before feature films between March 6 and 15, because the content for these shorts enhances or matches the feature film content.
Recently, South Korean filmmaker, Bong Joon Ho, swept the 92nd Academy Awards, opening the door for a cross-cultural vision in cinema. Meanwhile, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest had a parallel surprise. Suzie Kang took the top prize at the post grad level for her animated film "Vandals." From South Korea originally, she graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts last spring.
This year, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest drew a record 157 entries from as close as River Forest, Illinois, to as far away as Hawi, Hawaii, with topics ranging from plastic pollution to e-waste to fast fashion.
Exactly 100 of those entries competed for the top prize, a $1,000 scholarship at the college level (which includes grade 12 of high school).
The entries are all in for the 2017 Young Filmmakers Contest. They came from as far away as California, Florida and New Jersey, the filmmakers taking on the environmental topics of our times: local food, water waste, wildlife protection, and biking to save energy.
Jurors are now reviewing the entries, taking into consideration the creativity, research solution-oriented messages of each. Winners will be announced in early February and will premiere at the Young Filmmakers Contest: Winner Screenings + Awards at 3 p.m., Sat., March 4, at Columbia College Chicago, Music Center, 1014 S. Michigan Ave.
