
AWARD NOMINATIONS 2021
SDG FILMS - GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND COMPETITION

TERRA FAME - the land of mine
Dir. Mika Koskinen
89' • Finland • 2017
As the Earth is running out of resources, mining companies have less and less to exploit. Finland aims to be a model country for environmentally friendly mining. Its pioneer project is the Talvivaara mine, which uses new biotechnology to extract low-grade nickel, zinc and uranium. This chronicled film follows the local community whose frustration mounts after predicting and witnessing environmental disasters caused by the mine. It documents the industrys lobbying activities, and its preconceptions on activists. The company issues new shares to survive and tries to restore its reputation with help of PR consultants. It looks at the state government: the attitudes of civil servants who are licensing and supervising environmental permits and promoting sustainable mining industry. Politicians making decisions as the mine is going bankrupt and water levels are rising. Who are the real experts to trust? A farmer, a fisherman, a clergyman, a rally driver; engineers, consultants, ministers and presidents: through several charismatic characters, the documentary film TERRA FAME - Land of Mine follows the tragicomic rise and fall of the biggest nickel mine in Western Europe, the effects of which continue to reverberate in the nation.

The Burning Field
Dir. Justin Weinrich
71' • United States • 2019
In this immersive portrait of life in an environmental wasteland, four young Ghanaians struggle to navigate work and relationships over a single day in Agbogbloshie, the largest e-waste dump on earth. Told entirely from their unique perspectives and in their own words, verité sequences capture telling moments from lives spent dismantling and burning electronic appliances from around the world, and the steep toll that it takes both on them and on the environment.

The Cull - Scotland's Deer Dilemma
Dir. Ted Simpson
60' • United Kingdom • 2020
The future of the Scottish Highlands is under threat. With red deer dominating the ecosystem, should these landscapes become wild once more? If so, what happens to the people that call these places home? There are estimated to be over 350,000 red deer in Scotland. Deer populations, when uncontrolled, have a massive impact on the landscapes of the Highlands. As a result, deer are culled each year in an attempt to manage and maintain the ecosystem that they are a central part of. Over the last sixty years however, a debate has raged regarding the size, nature, and purpose of the deer cull. The impact of this debate will change how people see, interact with and even inhabit the Scottish highlands. 'The Cull’ explores the different approaches to deer management taken by land owners and managers in Scotland, and delves into the reasoning behind the vitriol. This film is about much more than Scotland’s largest land mammal — deer management is a vehicle for us to discuss the topic of how we interact with our natural environment, and how ’wild land’ is managed and used in Scotland today. Talking to people from all over Scotland and on all sides of the debate, this documentary presents the issues as seen by real people on the ground, from crofters, gamekeepers, land managers, land owners, environmentalists & rewilders — all fighting to use and protect the land in the way they see fit. The future of our planet is the biggest story of our generation, with many people battling day to day to better the planet for future generations. This film explores the fight for the Scottish Highlands.