One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest
Global Awards Celebration
See the best short environmental films
from young people across the planet
Sunday, Sept. 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT
Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., Chicago
OR online virtually
The Earth needs a makeover and these young filmmakers will provide their tips on the best ways to improve the health of the planet. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host the Global Contest Awards Celebration, where you can meet these young filmmakers in person or online and see their extraordinary films.
Doors open 11 a.m. for check-in/registration
Program begins promptly at 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time
Program ends 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time
Free popcorn
Free beverage
Since 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has awarded over 100 prizes to short environmental films from youth age 25 down to 3rd grade. A jury of 32 environmental and film professionals selected the final, top films from among 403 submissions around the world in this first year as a global, rather than national contest. Each film is 1 to 8 minutes long and ranges from animation to live action to documentary.
NEW ADDITION FOR THOSE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC:
A special screening will take place at 11:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time
on Sunday, Sept. 17. Register below.
Fun Facts + Questions:
We received 403 submissions from 45 countries and 37 U.S. states.
A) Which 3 countries sent in the most submissions?
B) Which 3 states sent in the most submissions?
Answers at the bottom of this page.
Thank you to our illustrious jury: Anna Lee Ackermann, Deborah Adelman, Felice Bassuk, Amy Brinkman, Kathleen Brennan, Laurie Casey, Hussain Currimbhoy, Lisa Daleiden-Brugman, Steve Cohen, Layla Dade, Mary Ford, Sophia Fowler, Monica Fox, Paula Froehle, Bill Gee, Jim Gill, Kathryn Hempel, Patrick Thomas Keen, Adrija Kundu, Angelo Lavel, William Kim Lyons, Jennifer Maiotti, Jonathan Moeller, Julie Moller, Elaine Petkovsek, James Rohn, Victoria Solano, Jessie Wahlers, Karen Weigert, Risé Sanders-Weir, Marc Wellin, and Gary Wilson. Learn more about our jury:
Anna Lee Ackermann is an award-winning filmmaker based in Chicago. Her debut short documentary, “As We Are Planted,” explores the issue of food insecurity in Chicago and was CineYouth's 2021 Chicago Award winner. Today she runs the social media channels for Broadway In Chicago, edits a podcast, shoots the occasional wedding, and continues her filmmaking as a freelancer.
Deborah Adelman taught film studies and writing courses at College of DuPage until her recent retirement. She is the co-founder of the COD Community Farm (since 2002) and Food Security Initiative, a sustainable agriculture and educational project that provides organic food for the college community. She co-taught interdisciplinary seminars combining the Environmental Humanities and Environmental Biology for 25 years, and has written and presented at conferences advocating for integrated and experiential approaches to college curriculum.
Felice Bassuk, a screenwriter and film producer, is currently working on an immigration film. Her short dramatic anti-smoking film, “The Call,” was screened at festivals across the country and is being distributed to schools, health departments, and youth clubs.
Katie Brennan is an intellectual property attorney whose clients include writers, visual and musical artists. She has served as Chair of the River Forest Sustainability Commission, and currently serves as a Village Trustee. Katie enjoys native gardening and is a keen environmentalist.
Amy Brinkman is a retired board member for The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association. She has been a volunteer/assistant for Wicker Park DIY Landscape Design Class and a "Kids Grow" program that helps young people develop a relationship with the environment and an appreciation of the arts.
Laurie Casey is One Earth Local Programs Director, where she does community outreach and organizing around climate and environmental justice. Before that she ran One Earth Collective's marketing communications strategy for a number of years.
Steve Cohen. A producer, investor, and attorney, Steve is the Co-Founder and Board Chair of Chicago Media Project (CMP), the innovative multifaceted philanthropic community of documentary film lovers who believe in the power of media to bring about social change. He is also the Co-Manager of Chicago Media Project Invest/Impact (CMP I/I), the equity fund side of CMP that invests recoupable equity in commercially viable documentaries. He has also co-founded the annual DOC10 Film Festival in Chicago which brings 10 cinematically powerful non-fiction films to Chicago to illustrate the power of great storytelling and its”little sister” traveling regional festival, DOC 5.
Hussain Currimbhoy is a film producer and director; his work has shown at festivals internationally. Currently he is head of development for Chicago Media Project in Chicago.
Layla Dade is a Chicago native who earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary film from Columbia College Chicago. She directed the film “Soleful",” which won first place in the Bronzeville Film Festival. Layla is 25 years old.
Lisa Daleiden-Brugman is a certified educator with master’s degree in teaching and more than 14 years of experience developing curricula and implementing educational programs. She also has more than 10 years of school leadership experience through parent boards.
Mary Ford is the Senior Director of Roots & Shoots, the youth action program of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). She has previously worked at the National Geographic Society, the National Audubon Society, and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. She is the chair of the board of the North American Association for Environmental Education. She loves working with young people and spending time in nature, including the wonderful parks and rivers near her home in Washington, DC.
Sophia Fowler is climate campaigner and digital communications specialist at Greenpeace Australia Pacific. She campaigns for renewable climate solutions and climate justice in the Pacific region, where the consequences of climate change hit hardest. Previously at Greenpeace she led creative collaborations with artists, musicians and cultural influencers.
Monica Fox has worked in the film and video industry for over 35 years. She has produced films shown on PBS and Discovery Networks, has worked with Kartemquin Films, and has worked on documentaries that span a wide range of subjects, including sustainability living, farm-to-table healthy eating, and histories of ground-breaking social justice institutions.
Paula Froehle has been a film director, visual artist, educator and entrepreneur for over 30 years. As a filmmaker, she has directed 12 films and produced over 40 media projects. As an entrepreneur, she has been involved in several startups, including Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts College in Chicago, Opal Pictures design & film production company, Atavistic Chicago record label, and most recently, as co-founder & CEO of Chicago Media Project, a member-based organization which provides philanthropic support for social impact documentary films.
Bill Gee has worked in the food industry for over 25 years and has supported the One Earth Film Festival since its inception. He is a board member for the Sugar Beet Food Co-op, and Chicago Public Media (WBEZ), and a member of Chicago Media Project (CMP).
Jim Gill is a retired civil engineer with both a professional and personal connection to "sustainability." He taught college level courses in building energy technology for 11 years, consulted in residential energy auditing, and owned both a car fueled by vegetable oil and an electric vehicle, each driven for over 10 years. As for film, Jim has collected over 6,000 movies, mostly on DVD.
Kathryn Hempel is an artist, commercial film editor/Partner of Cutters Studios, and a recent MFA graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has edited short and feature-length films, numerous award-winning commercial campaigns, and is the creator and co-founder of the Camp Kuleshov editing, design, and sound competition for Association of Independent Producers member companies. Hempel has also served on the jury for the One Earth Film Festival, along with the Clio, AICE, and AICP Post Awards.
Patrick Thomas Keen is a media producer and post-production specialist. His work focuses on educational, environmental, and social advocacy campaigns. In 2020, the One Earth Film Festival partnered with Patrick to develop the Young Filmmakers Online Academy. This program is an entirely online course for middle-school-aged students to learn environmental filmmaking.
Adrija Kundu is from New Jersey and is a rising freshman at Princeton University where she will major in Molecular Biology. She is passionate about equitable access to STEM education. Adrija works to bridge the gap in access to STEM resources as a member of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Youth Council. She also has many interests outside of this work—everything from cancer research to reading rom-com novels and thrillers.
Angelo Lavel, the leader of World Wonder Pictures, has been creating films for nearly 15 years. His subjects and muses include multi platinum recording artists, GQ models, The Earth, and various prominent organizations and businesses. Angelo's work was recently highlighted on NBC. Currently Angelo is an avid learner of plants and beginner gardener.
William Kim Lyons is a film aficionado and retired tech consultant with a PhD from Brown University. He is proud of his large collection of classic films on VHS and DVD, as well as his vast knowledge of music. William Kim is an exercise enthusiast, riding his bicycle up to 150 miles weekly. Additionally, he has been a minimalist (except for his film collection) for as long as he can remember. He hopes that his frugality will make a small impact to better the planet.
Jennifer Maiotti has written and produced documentaries for National Geographic, Discovery, and History channels. She recently produced Cooking for Life with Kartemquin Films on the healing power of healthy, natural foods.
Jonathan Moeller is the film teacher at DePaul College Prep High School in Chicago. His courses cover production, screenwriting, editing, and film theory and history. He earned a Master's degree in Writing and Directing for Film from Columbia College in Chicago in 2016. He teaches part-time with Chicago Filmmakers in the Chicago Edgewater neighborhood and collaborates on small indie productions.
Julie Moller is an ambassador for 5 Gyres, a not-for-profit studying the effects of micro plastics in our environment. She is also trained as a Climate Reality Leader by former Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
Elaine Petkovsek is an environmental engineer with over 30 years experience investigating and cleaning up contaminated properties. In her personal life she’s committed to a sustainable lifestyle, including composting, energy efficiency, and gardening with native plants.
Jim Rohn is associate professor in the interactive arts and media department at Columbia College Chicago. Formerly, he worked in the video game industry and also developed and illustrated comic books. Jim teaches computer and traditional animation production classes.
Victoria Solano is a member of the National Youth Leadership Council for the Jane Goodall Institute. She has always been interested in the environment as she interned for Earth Day and is an international FXB Climate Advocate Ambassador. She will continue to focus her time on fighting against climate change next year as a freshman at Columbia University.
Jessie Wahlers is a Youth Leader for Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Youth Council- US. She currently attends the University of Tampa and will be entering her third year there. When not working on sustainability and conservation projects with her Roots & Shoots group, she is an avid film-watcher.
Karen Weigert works to bring sustainability and climate solutions to life. She served as the first Chief Sustainability Officer for the great city of Chicago and as a producer and writer on the documentary film Carbon Nation and is currently the sustainability contributor for Reset on WBEZ and EVP of Slipstream.
Risé Sanders Weir produced the documentary series America To Me and has produced and directed documentaries for MSNBC, PBS, History, National Geographic, CNBC, A&E, The Weather Channel and others. Her work has been recognized with Cinema Eye, Emmy, Hugo and Telly awards and nominations for an MPSE Golden Reel and an NAACP Image Award.
Marc Wellin is a video producer/director and the founder of Mothlight Pictures in Chicago. He's done documentary, music video and advertising work for business clients, television networks and not-for-profits. A 20-year industry veteran, Marc has won Gold and Silver Hugos at the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as Addy and Telly awards for his work.
Gary Wilson is an environmental journalist who has been commenting and writing for public media since 2011. He focuses on water issues with an emphasis on the Great Lakes, and environmental justice related to drinking water quality and affordability. He currently contributes to Detroit Public TV's Great Lakes Now initiative and Planet Detroit.
ANSWERS:
A) Which 3 countries sent in the most submissions? USA (240), India (28), Australia (14)
B) Which 3 states sent in the most submissions? California (60), Illinois (24), and Texas (19)