“We have a battle at hand, one where our future and our children’s future are at stake,” Cong. Edgar Chatto urges every one to help in the effort to reverse the effects of climate change during the Klima Film Festival 2021 on Friday, March 11, 2022, a report said.
In a virtual message, Chatto, the chairperson of the House Committee on Climate Change, likened the struggle to reverse climate change to a war, which weapons include all forms of media in order to educate and inform the public about the impact of climate change.
He commended film festival’s organizers, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center, for harnessing the power of cinema in building awareness and understanding regarding climate change and driving action to address its causes and impacts.
The undertaking, Chatto said, mobilizes the youth in amplifying the importance of local climate solutions to and also further increase their influence on local climate policy making.
With the declaration of an environmental and climate emergency in the country, awareness and education are critical for climate change resilience, Chatto added.
Early this year, Chatto in a privilege speech at the House of Representatives, asked the country to demand climate justice and hold the major carbon producers accountable to their promised financial assistance to the most vulnerable countries to climate change like the Philippines.
Four film entries – Modern Stray by Trianggulo Productions, Sigalot sa Pagitan ng Tao at Kalikasan by ENCA Film Production, Tanaw by Playback Multimedia, and Viridescent by MCDP Films – vie for the grand prize in the 2021 Klima Film Festival.
With the theme: “Adapting For A Sustainable Future: Stepping Up Local Climate Action in a Post-Pandemic World,” the film festival was launched in October last year to highlight the importance of local climate action.
The film festival showcases the finalists through special screening and talkback sessions on March 9-10, 2022.
The CCC and OML collaborated with I Want The Filipino Channel (TFC), as the official media partner, and the Support CCC II Project implemented jointly by the CCC and the German Agency for International Cooperation in the Philippines.