This past weekend, the first edition of the Green Film Forum was held in Mallorca, bringing together national and international experts in sustainability and professionals from the audiovisual sector, from students to seasoned industry veterans, from October 18 to 20.
The hybrid event featured over 300 accredited professionals, with 60% attending in person and the rest online, hailing from Zaragoza, Madrid, Pamplona, Albacete, Valencia, Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid, Austria, London, Rome, various German cities, Helsinki, Brussels, Athens, and Mexico.
The project, an initiative by the Mallorca Film Commission, was part of the III Summit of Sustainable Destinations, organized in Mallorca this year by the Fundació Mallorca Turisme in collaboration with the Consell de Mallorca and the Sustainable Tourism Observatory (STO Mallorca), supported by the UN World Tourism Organization.
The Green Film Forum allowed attendees to reflect on the crucial role the audiovisual sector plays in combating climate change, drawing several key conclusions:
The Power of Audiovisual Media: Although not the most polluting industry, the sector has the power to capture public attention and effectively promote sustainable changes.
Innovation and Sustainability: The use of new technologies, like virtual production and lightweight sustainable materials, not only reduces the carbon footprint but also opens up opportunities for inclusion, such as increasing female employment in the sector.
Reimagining the Traditional Model: It’s essential to address all production stages, involve the entire team and suppliers, and encourage collaboration between public and private entities. The importance of sustainable supplier databases and the creation of an “impact budget”—considering environmental, social, and economic impacts of productions—was emphasized.
Artificial Intelligence: A recurring theme was the use of generative AI, which, if not managed properly, can have negative consequences. There is hope that this technology will enhance creativity without replacing the human ability to tell stories.
The Green Film Forum has established itself as a reference space for professionals committed to transforming the sector towards a more sustainable model. As many attendees noted, “The event was worth the trip.”
The Program
Day 1: An Edible Forest and a Masterclass on Sustainability
The event kicked off on Friday, the 18th, with a warm welcome at Casa Esment, where a tree was planted as the initial act of the Film Food Forest, an ambitious project aiming to plant between 5,000 and 8,000 edible trees over the next two years. This circular economy project seeks to offset the carbon footprint of audiovisual activities on the island, as well as provide fruit for catering at future shoots. Attendees included Susanna Sciacovelli, Director of the Fundació Mallorca Turisme, Marcial Rodríguez, Insular Councilor for Tourism, and Pedro Barbadillo, Director of the Mallorca Film Commission.
Attendees participated in an inaugural masterclass given by Birgit Heidsiek and Pedro Barbadillo, exploring the audiovisual sector’s challenges in transitioning to more sustainable production. They emphasized the importance of pre-planning to reduce resource use, which makes productions not only more sustainable but also more economical.
Day 2: Innovation, Festivals, and the First European Green Seal
Saturday continued at the Zoëtry Hotel with a series of panels on sustainability in festivals and cinemas, technological innovations, and the role of professionals leading this change.
Javier Pachón, Director of CineCiutat, led the session with contributions from Carmen Slijpen of Germany’s Lewes Depot cinema and Teresa Morales of the Punto de Vista Film Festival. Participants emphasized the importance of achieving profitability in their activities without compromising people or the planet, as well as the effort involved in finding suitable suppliers that contribute to sustainability. It was concluded that festivals and cinemas serve as amplifiers, promoting change both through their content and operations to raise public awareness.
The second panel, moderated by Alba Meijide, an artificial intelligence expert, focused on innovation and how it can facilitate sustainability. Participants included Finn Breddin of LitchHaus, Isaac Bergada of Mediapro, and Tom Henderson of The Vectar Project. Each, in their own way, contributes to improving the sector’s sustainability through innovation, from lighting in LitchHaus’s case to virtual production by Isaac Bergada and the creation of sustainable sets by The Vectar Project.
Artificial intelligence was highlighted as one of the major challenges and an accelerator of processes, with warnings about the negative consequences of reducing costs without considering externalities.
The third panel focused on the people enabling sustainability. Paloma Andrés Urrutia from Mrs. Greenfilm presented on how they support entities in this sustainable transition and led a discussion with Belén Carrasco from the Malaga Film Office, Alissa Aubenque from ECOPROD France, and Esmeralda Ruiz from Fresco Film.
The final panel of the day discussed various guidelines for sustainable shoots and debated whether there is a convergence towards common procedures and tools. Moderated by Eduardo Vieitiez of Creast, it featured Christiane Scholz from the Hamburg Film Commission and Luca Ferrario from the Trentino Film Commission, creator of Green Film, the first European green certification for sustainable shoots.
Day 3: Financing and Implementation
On the third and final day, the Spain Film Commission presented a study on the sustainability of the audiovisual sector in Spain, conducted in collaboration with REDCAU and CENER (National Renewable Energy Center). This study was previously presented in Malaga, San Sebastián, Pamplona, Pontevedra, and the Canary Islands.
Participants in the presentation included Juan Manuel Guimeráns, Secretary-General of Spain Film Commission, Adriana Oliveros, President of the Aragón Audiovisual Cluster and REDCAU representative, and Florencio Manteca from CENER.
The next session, focused on audiovisual financing and moderated by Teresa Azcona from the Madrid Audiovisual Cluster, featured Carlota Guerrero from ICEC and Benjamin Vanhagendoren from Wallimage. They discussed their respective audiovisual funding activities and policies, and the debate delved into the role of public funds in promoting sustainability and the capacity of project funders, both public and private, to prescribe sustainability measures.
The Green Film Forum concluded with a masterclass on the role of producers in sustainability, led by María Gómez from CSC Films. María Gómez presented the case of Una ballena, the first Spanish feature film with a European green seal, explaining the steps taken to obtain it, the challenges faced, and the opportunities within the sector.