INTERACTIONS – 12 INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS WEAVE TOGETHER PEOPLE, BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WATER-RELATED RISKS

Last October, the world premiere of INTERACTIONS took place at the Rome International Film Festival. This new  anthology of 12 short, unique stories, each 8 minutes long, addresses the relationship between humans and climate change, nature, health, water and much more.

This project of the NGO Art for the World – of which the International Secretariat for Water (ISW) is the major global partner together with the SDC – is actively involved in raising awareness of environmental issues and the effects of climate change by organising large international travelling exhibitions and producing a series of short films by prestigious directors from different regions of the world.

INTERACTIONS will also premiere in Asia at the 53rd Goa International Film Festival in India and in December 2022 at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) in Montreal, Canada.

The directors

In 2019, ART for the World produced the feature film Interdependence 2019, directed by eleven international filmmakers committed to raising awareness on issues related to climate change and environmental preservation.
The renowned artists and filmmakers involved in this new production were selected in particular for their commitment and sensitivity to themes related to our environment and the consequences that climate change can have on our habitat.

In full genre freedom and creative synergy, the stories told by the twelve directors reflect the key themes of INTERACTIONS, promoting awareness and education, raising awareness and suggesting possible solutions for the future.

  • Faouzi Bensaïdi (Morocco), Winner of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012,
  • Clemente Bicocchi (Italy)
  • Anne de Carbuccia (France/USA), premiered at the 2018 Venice Film Festival,
  • Takuma Kuikuro (Brazil/Amazonia), represented the indigenous territories of Xingu at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021,
  • Oskar Metsavaht (Brazil), artist, designer, environmentalist, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and Ambassador for the UN Decade of the Ocean,
  • Eric Nazarian (Armenia/USA), awarded at the Turin Film Festival in 2012,
  • Yulene Olaizola and Ruben Imaz (Mexico), often premiered at international festivals such as Tribeca and Venice,
  • Bettina Oberli (Switzerland), winner of the 2020 Vienna International Film Festival;
  • Nila Madhab Panda (India) winner of the 2020 Goa International Film Festival,
  • Janis Rafa (Greece/Dutch), winner of the Hong Kong and Rotterdam International Film Festivals in 2020;
  • Isabella Rossellini (USA), world-renowned actress and Good Will Ambassador of the Jane Goodall Institute for the Protection of Animal Life and the Environment.

Distribution

Distribution will begin in January 2023 and will continue throughout the year and beyond. It will be shown at international festivals in Europe, Asia, Australia, the United States and South America.

Special events and educational programs for the distribution of the film will be organised in universities, schools, NGO networks, museums, cultural institutions and on social networks. Workshops, debates and educational activities will also be offered to highlight the causes and effects of climate change in order to propose actions and solutions.

OFFICIAL SCREENINGS IN 2022

  • October 17: World premiere at the Rome International Film Festival
  • November 9 – 10: Official screening at Cinema Anteo in Milan in collaboration with the Cariplo Foundation
  • November 20-28: Asian premiere at the 53rd Goa International Film Festival, India
  • November 19-26: Swiss premiere at the Castellinaria Film Festival, Switzerland
  • December: Screening and special event at the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity COP15, Montreal, Canada

The producer

Art for the World is an NGO, associated with UNDPI (United Nations Department of Public Information), founded in 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, with headquarters in Geneva and Italy and active in Europe as well as in Brazil, Canada, USA, India, Mexico and Morocco.

Art for the World combines ethics and aesthetics to build intercultural relationships and to foster culture, education and sustainability through the organisation of a wide range of cultural projects inspired by the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the travelling contemporary art exhibitions FOOD and AQUA and the production of the film anthology Interdependence

The NGO started its film productions on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2008 with the production of twenty-one short films entitled Stories on Human Rights, financed by the European Union and supported by the French Ministry of Culture and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2008, Stories on Human Rights received the Council of Europe’s label for the most innovative cultural project.