Inter­na­tional film success: HfG graduates win the One Earth Young Film­ma­kers Contest

A major success on the inter­na­tional stage: HfG graduates Nata­scha Donhauser and Justine Wieder­mann were awarded the Post­gra­duate Award, worth US$1,000, at this year’s One Earth Young Film­ma­kers Contest. In addi­tion to the prize money, the team will receive a further US$1,000 as a matching dona­tion for a US charity of their choice. The pair chose Kelp Ark, an initia­tive dedi­cated to the protec­tion and resto­ra­tion of kelp forests.

In their seven-minute, medi­ta­tive short film ​“Hidden Forests”, the film­ma­kers take the audi­ence on a visual journey of disco­very into the English Channel off the south coast of Great Britain. The camera follows Justine Wieder­mann as she snor­kels through dense kelp forests, past crabs, fish, anemones and sharks.

Kelp forests are among the most species-rich, yet also the most endan­gered, ecosys­tems on our planet. Although they play a central role in the global climate as gigantic carbon sinks, they are far less well known to the public than tropical rain­fo­rests or coral reefs. Due to ocean warming, pollu­tion and unsus­tainable fishing, these under­water forests have already been deci­mated by up to 90 per cent in many places. ​“Some­thing we can’t see is holding us toge­ther,” says the film, which powerfully illus­trates just how essen­tial the preser­va­tion of these invi­sible under­water worlds is for global balance.

The One Earth Young Film­ma­kers Contest, based in Chicago (Illi­nois, USA), invites young talents aged between 8 and 25 to create short films that raise aware­ness of envi­ron­mental and sustaina­bi­lity issues and inspire action. A panel of experts compri­sing film and envi­ron­mental specia­lists assesses the entries and provides indi­vi­dual feed­back. In the current compe­ti­tion year, 428 entries were submitted from 58 count­ries and 35 US states. Along­side Germany, this year’s prize-winners include talented film­ma­kers from South Korea, Poland, Argen­tina, Guinea, India, Taiwan and the USA.

This success impres­si­vely high­lights the contri­bu­tion that film and design projects can make in helping people to expe­ri­ence complex ecolo­gical inter­re­la­ti­onships on an emotional level and in raising public aware­ness of global issues affec­ting our future.

The HfG warmly congra­tu­lates Nata­scha Donhauser and Justine Wieder­mann on this outstan­ding inter­na­tional success.

Trailer ​„Hidden Forests“

full-length film ​“Hidden Forests”