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The winners of the 11th SunChild International Environmental Festival (IEF) film contest were announced at the Awarding Ceremony held on November 8. 

Five days after its launch last week, the 11th edition of the SunChild IEF has reached its finale for the year. The festival’s closing event was held on November 8, 2022, at the Union of Film Professionals of Armenia, which also hosted daily sessions of environmental film screenings, from November 4 to 8, Viva-MTS reported.

The three main category winners of the SunChild IEF 2022 film competition were selected from an impressive variety of overall 30 environmental films from total 17 countries. Each of these documentary and animation movies was a strong manifestation of the urgent need to raise people’s awareness about the main the Climate Change, stressing the need to preserve and protect our environment for the wellbeing, and at this state - even existence, of all the beings on our One and Only Planet Earth. 

The winner-films are:

- “Into the Ice” (dir.: Lars Henrik Ostenfeld, Denmark/Germany, 2022) in the Best Feature-length Film about Climate Change category;

- “Reviving Rivers” (dir.: Christopher J Carter & Raleigh E Latham, USA, 2022) in the Best Short Film about Climate Change category;

- “The Savior” (dir.: Soheila Pourmohammadi, Iran, 2021) in the Best Film for Youth and Children about Environment category.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany in Armenia H.E. Mr. Viktor Richter attended/was present at the event and received the award on behalf of the film director of the “Into the Ice” film that won the first prize in the “Feature-length film about Climate Change” nomination.

In Ambassador Richter’s words, “As a matter of preserving the living conditions for the future generations, Germany supports all efforts aimed at the implementation of the goals set forth for the climate protection. I am glad that the German film "Into the Ice" won the first place in its category. This film clearly highlights the current condition of Greenland's glaciers as a clear indicator of Global Warming”.

The award for “The Savior” was passed on to Mr. Seyed Hossein Tabatabaei, the Director of the Cultural Center of The Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Iran in Armenia, who received the prize on behalf of the film’s creator.

Four films “Pari and Pouri” (dir.: Hamed Vahid, Iran, 2022), “Total Disaster” (dir.: Keil Orion Troisi & Molly Gore, USA, 2022), “Last Day on Earth” (dir.: Christian Jacob Eisenbarth, USA, 2021), and “Sisters in Arms” (dir.: Henri de Gerlache, Belgium, 2022) received certificates and Jury’s Special Mention for their strong environmental messages, creativity, and production quality.

“We managed to show numerous wonderful films touching upon the Climate Change global environmental threat which is the spotlight of this year’s SunChild festival. These screenings also attempted to achieve a positive outcome in a complex struggle for a more sustainable future, portraying also the dark and problematic sides of the environmental protection. Often, we simply ignore the existing issues by focusing on more positive and colorful aspects of our reality”, stated the Director of the SunChild IEF Ms. Sona Kalantaryan. “These films are not merely works of cinematographic art – they convey a very important message. And if they manage to spark even a small emotional response in you, then our efforts in organizing this festival are not in vain”, added Ms. Kalantaryan.

For the next year’s 12th SunChild IEF, which is an integral part of the FPWC and will be (in) the focus of the foundation’s 20th Anniversary year-round celebrations, the festival aims to add new awards and nominations to its expanded and enriched program.

The Awarding Ceremony went ahead with the speeches from the festival’s organizers - FPWC and SunChild directors, and the jury members, who shared their personal opinions and insight about the contesting films.

Before passing on to the main awarding part, Mr. Michael Dovlatyan, a renowned Armenian film-director, spoke about the importance of preserving the precious and scarce nature resources, such as the water. He mentioned this in the context of a unique water accumulating technique shown in the documentary “Mamody, the Last Baobab Digger”, which did not take any special prizes this year but, nevertheless, won a special place in the hearts of many including Mr. Dovlatyan.

The President of Centre for Community Mobilization and Support Mr. Oleg Dulgaryan, a jury member in the “Short Films about Climate Change” competition category, expressed his adoration with the presented films’ “quality and masterful execution”, adding, that “he was pleasantly surprised since he had been completely unaware that so many wonderful films on environment are being made these days. According to him, “It was a difficult choice and decision to pick the best one in so many wonderful works”.

Another film director and a valued member of the jury, Ms. Nune Hovhannisyan, emphasized the role a single human being can and should play in nature conservation: “I do believe in a human being. I believe that the actions of one person are capable of changing the world”.

Taking this concept further, the FPWC Founder-Director Mr. Ruben Khachatryan expressed hope that the SunChild IEF 2023 will have a stronger and more lasting impact on people’s mindsets through broadening its program and reach in order to involve more participants in Armenia and abroad. “The Festival can serve as a great peacebuilding platform, and a strong means to communicate and convey the most urgent and challenging environmental issues with the view of finding solutions to those”, added Mr. Khachatryan.

“Norahin” folk/traditional music band performed for the attendees commenced the event, which was concluded by the screening of the award-winning “Into the Ice” documentary.

The official partners of the 11th SunChild IEF are Viva-MTS, the US Forest Service, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

More on SunChild IEF

2022 SunChild IEF was dedicated to the biggest environmental challenge on Earth – the climate change. A total of 30 newest environmental films from all over the world, most of which uncover various aspects of the main climate change theme, were screened in the framework of the Festival from November 4 to 8, 2022. From November 8 onwards, films will be shown in Armenia’s different regions.

SunChild International Environmental Festival was established in 2007 by the “Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets” (FPWC). It is the first and, up to date, one of a kind eco-cultural-educational event of such scale in the entire South Caucasus region.

Since its founding 16 years ago, SunChild has been bridging members of local and international communities concerned with nature conservation issues. The festival serves as a platform for instigating dialogue, raising public awareness and promoting creative solutions to the existing environmental threats and problems.