Environmental Films Showcased at First Green Film Festival

Four (4) films touching on planet-related issues were featured at The 1^st Green Film Festival held at SM North EDSA on September 23, 2009. The movies shown at Cinema 4 of SM The Block were a combination of American and Filipino films aimed at creating awareness about the serious problems our planet Earth is currently facing and what can people do about it.

Spearheaded by the SM Cares' SM Environment Committee, in partnership with Unico Home Entertainment, Solar Entertainment Corporation (official United International Pictures distributor in the Philippines), Warner Bros. Pictures, Magnavision and SM Cinema, the Green Film Festival highlighted environmental issues, such as climate change, scarcity of water, environmental decay, and the need for people and nations to work together for a sustainable future.

Joining the SM Environment Committee for the Green Film Festival are the embassies of France, Japan and The Netherlands which contributed films shown during the event.

Some of the films shown during the festival were:

• The 11^th Hour, which was released in 2007 and narrated by Leonardo di Caprio. The movie presented visionary and practical solutions to restore the planet’s ecosystems;
• Home, a depiction of how the Earth's problems are all interlinked;
• Penguin, Penguin Paano Ka Ginawa is the Filipino version of the French documentary March of the Penguins, narrated by Sharon Cuneta. It followed the journey of a penguin to its breeding spot in Antarctica; and
• Abong (Small Home), which is a Filipino-Japanese art and cultural film about the Igorots of Mt. Province.

The movies Home and The 11th Hour were also shown at SM Megamall last September 30 along with Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and British Broadcasting Corporation’s Planet Earth. Screenings were also held at SM Mall of Asia last October 7, 2009.

The 1^st Green Film Festival is a project of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. For more information, call (632) 292-0023 or (632) 294-4367.