FINCA - a triumph for awareness and the environment
28 de AGOSTO, 2014
The 2nd International Environmental Film Festival (FINCA) organized by the DerHumALC Multimedia Institute (IMD) came to a close on July 30. The closing ceremony took place at the Alliance Française of Buenos Aires with performances by Gabriel Larre, composer of the soundtracks of Documental 9.70 and Huicholes, los Últimos Guardianes del Peyote, and Peteco Carabajal, a renowned Argentinian folk musician. FINCA’s cultural significance has been recognized by the Federal Chamber of Deputies, the Buenos Aires City Legislature and the Ministry of Culture. Its environmental significance has been acknowledged by the Agencia de Protección Ambiental (Environment protection agency). Due to these acknowledgements over 4000 people attended the three venues: the Alliance Française of Buenos Aires, Espacio INCAA Km 0 Cine Gaumont and BAMA Cine Arte. In total, 29 films were screened, including short, medium and feature films that covered the following sections: Mining & Oil Extraction, Food & Intensive Farming, Biodiversity & Sustainability and Waste & Pollution. The films shown were produced in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the USA, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and Venezuela, and a few of them saw their pre-release screening during the Festival. Of these films, 14 took part in the official competition; many of them were National and International releases. Overall, public response was very positive and we can proudly assert that this edition has been overly successful. In terms of press, the event was covered by approximately 60 media outlets both national and international. Over 30 radio stations interviewed the guests and broadcast the programme. Many bloggers and online publications joined in to help spread information about the festival. The photography exhibition “Art and Part of Change” was another gathering point among spectators who felt identified by the pieces that won the contest, some of these pictures were taken by Matt Stoecker from the USA. Debates were organized where the spectators had the chance to ask the directors and the communities about the issues presented in the movie. The documentaries often made these evident, among them garbage disposal, radiation, sovereignty and personal consumption. During the first debate Victoria Solano’s Documental 9.70 was screened. This is a Colombian production that was in the contest in the medium-length film category, it narrates farmers´ struggle against a decree that forbids them from keeping their own seeds and against measures the government has adopted having signed a free trade agreement. Women from Ituzaingó also joined this debate –in this area soy is cultivated and the pesticides have caused great damage to the population as the number of cancer related deaths increased. Scorie in libertà by Italian director Gianfranco Pannone also encouraged reflection on the environmental consequences of nuclear power and on the ways that make the surrounding communities indifferent about this issue. Later on, the debate "Sustainable change: the transition towards new energy sources" touched upon this issue of nuclear energy and it veered towards possible alternative and sustainable energy sources. Across all debates the worry over nuclear waste was stressed, as it is mentioned in Pannone’s film the second law of ecology states that “everything must go somewhere”. For the last debate the movie directed by Michael Tyburski Brooklyn Farmer was screened. This film presents the challenges faced by farmers in Brooklyn, New York, when trying to uphold their agricultural tradition in the middle of the Big Apple. The debate was led by Sebastián Miguel (Architect and researcher at FADU-UBA, Director of the Bio-Environmental Design Lab-UFLO) who has managed to put together a similar urban farm at the University of Flores (UFLO). The party "Fuera del Tiempo” which took place this past Friday July 25 at Espacio Cultural Terranova, began with the tropical rhythms of Selektor Lupita Ferreyra, followed by the live perfomance of the group Paloma del Cerro and finished in a dancing frenzy led by the Zalama Crew. At this same location, the festival "Sustainable eating and conscious consumerism” was not only a gathering place for critical thinking but also an activity that called onto the active participation of children, youth and adults in ecology and puppet making workshops. Innovative projects were presented to face the world´s issues, organic food and alterative to consumption. Eduardo Spindola received an award this year for his work constructing beautiful objects with recycled materials that are built at his atelier “La Boca Reciclante". This edition of the FINCA Festival reached its goal to broaden cultural outlooks from a social perspective –one committed with the environmental issue– through film as a means to generate awareness. On behalf of the festival we would like to thank each and every one of the volunteers that helped with the logistics and the coordinators for keeping with their commitment throughout the organization of the festival.
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