What does it mean to participate in NUFF Global What does it mean to submit a film idea related to Climate Change?
Climate Change is a big issue that everybody is talking about: the temperature all over the world is rising because the amount of CO2 emissions - from polluting emissions - is increasing at a pace the earth's ecosystem cannot tolerate.
But how to tell a short-short story related to this matter? If you notice, the film idea competition is not only for documentary films. Recently very informative documentaries have surfaced in film and media. This is the case for example of the film "An inconvenient Truth" by Davis Guggenheim, about Al Gore's efforts to inform the public about the statistical reality of Climate Change.
The NUFF Global Idea competition cannot not try to imitate the impact and scope of this kind of film. Budget and time limitations prevent us from being that ambitious and, after all, that film is enough in itself to attract Big Media to the matter. NUFF Global is for short-short films.
What our idea competition is encouraging is NEW ideas from Youth Cinema makers. If you are under 30 years of age you fit into NUFF's definition of this new category of film-makers, and we encourage you to be creative in exploring ideas for stories that will shed cool light on the consequences and impact of Climate Change.
For example:
A story idea that has to do with temperature would be welcome. Maybe you have a story in mind about a pool that evaporates, or about a family's cat that is affected by a sudden change in a local weather pattern. Submit it!
Perhaps you have an idea frozen in the back of your mind that includes the force and power of the elements: rain, fire, wind, ice. Submit it! Not only is it on topic, it can also be very cinematic, meaning that film is the perfect medium to capture the beauty of a small story set against the backdrop of natural forces in motion.
Do you have a memory about a camping trip, an adventure on a boat, on a mountain or on a desert road? Try and explore if there isn't an angle that couldn't be made dramatic for one or two characters - keep it simple, it is a short film! - to have to deal with?
Even a story with love at its centre is - if you look at it closely - in one way or another related to temperature. Hot and cold are two binary components of every relationship, after all. Like two sides of a coin. Flip one and see what happens with any play of opposites!
Remember: NUFF Global is eager to receive any and all interpretations of Climate Change, and don't forget the importance of the word "change", which in itself is at the core of all movie ideas, screenwriters call it "the arc". Someone or something goes from one condition, state of mind, or spiritual status - to another, because of what happens in the story. Like the earth, like many smaller things.
In every story, there are three possible formats: a linear story with one hero, a non-linear one with many characters, and one without a plot at all. When you have a hero, it is typically a story about optimism, about hope and the possibility of man making change happen. If you feel this way about Climate Change, find a hero with a problem related to heat or cold and submit it. See what can happen!
If you have many different characters, perhaps they exchange conflicting opinions, ideas - some informed, some less, some based on power, others on knowledge - and this debate can be the backdrop to Your story event.
If you are pessimistic about Climate Change, maybe you want to try submitting a non-plot idea. Without heroes and well-defined problems you can explore the existential side of the matter: for example, what will happen to nature (including mankind) if it can't even protect its self? Two characters discussing on what will happen next, could be a basis for an idea to submit about dreams, or nightmares. Of course each idea, whatever the common source, will have a different flavour and style, yours. NUFF Global ideas are coming from all locations on earth, but humans and their problems are similar: life and death, progress and self-destruction, success and failure, love and hate.
What if you want to submit an idea that is narrative, based on edited images (moving pictures or stills) and a voice-over? Do it! In that case, though, make sure your submission is specific enough so as not to sound vague. The jury will need to have a clear visual and logical connection to the project you want to make. Imagination is most welcome, but clarity in communicating your idea to submit is essential.
To sum it up, if you have not submitted your idea yet because you were not sure what was being asked of you, have no fear.
NUFF global is asking you be your creative self and submit your most original idea, in whatever form comes natural to you. Think about producing it within the limited budget available. Simple never means less important.
Also, don't forget about your process. If your idea at first feels like a cliché, turn it around, work it until it reveals a solution. The most important thing is that you - with limited experience but strong will and ambition - come up with an idea You feel is strong.
The audience for NUFF Global is not looking for easy answers, but for constant engagement, ideas that provoke more and more questions, more imagination and creative problem-solving. Submit your idea without thinking that it alone can solve Climate Change - no one can yet. Participate in our competition to express your voice. You are a film-maker, you make media. We only ask you show us your way, so we can help you Make a Movie That Matters.
The world is your audience, Youth Cinema. NUFF Global looks forward to reading your film ideas.
CINEMAHEAD Daniel Alegi, NUFF Global jury-member |
Faceless
Hot Planet, Thirsty Joburg
