BFI FAN: Green Hour is a series of events for UK film exhibitors focusing on environmental sustainability.
Session 4: Festivals and Environmental Sustainability
N.B Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session scheduled for Thursday 27 June on Festivals and Environmental Sustainability has been postponed. Check this page for details of the new date and time which will be scheduled as soon as possible.
We’ll be joined by Richard Phillips from Visions 25 and Rachel Caplan from Montrose LandxSea Film Festival. Richard and Rachel will give an overview of what’s happening environmental sustainability-wise in the festival landscape and discuss good practices from the sector.
Eligibility
This is a nationwide event, open to all members of the BFI Film Audience Network’s regional and national Film Hubs.
Accessibility
Auto-generated captions will be available via Zoom. If you have any access requirements please get in touch at: info@filmhubnorth.org.uk
Speakers
Rachel Caplan
Rachel Caplan is a dedicated environmental film programmer and festival producer with over 25 years in the cinema industry. Her work emphasizes the power of storytelling in environmental advocacy. In 2023, Rachel co-founded Scotland’s first environmental film festival, the Montrose LandxSea Film Fest, significantly contributing to environmental cinema in the UK.
Her career highlights include directing the International Ocean Film Festival and founding the San Francisco Green Film Festival, where she pioneered impactful community engagement for over a decade. Rachel’s expertise spans across major film organizations such as the SFFILM, BFI London, and Edinburgh International Film Festivals, along with studio publicity roles at Paramount and Universal.
Rachel has an MA in Cinema from the British Film Institute (BFI) and is a voting member of BAFTA. After many impactful years in the USA, she is now focused on advancing environmental narratives globally from her homeland, Scotland.
Richard Phillips
Richard Phillips is a Climate Change and Sustainability Specialist for the music industry at Julie’s Bicycle, a non-profit working with the creative industries to take bold climate action.
In this role, Richard works to improve the environmental performance of industry networks, organisations and professionals across live and recorded music. His projects have included developing guidance on sustainable touring, providing strategic sustainability advice for record labels and supporting environmental action and measurement at festivals.
Richard is also a Project Lead for Vision: 2025, a network of over 100 outdoor events and business taking climate action in the UK. Through Vision:2025, he has recently launched an innovative new industry toolkit for better waste management at festivals and is currently leading work to test the Green Events Code of Practice among 10 city and county authorities in engaging their events on minimum environmental standards.
Richard is motivated by collaborative action on the climate crisis and unlocking the potential of the creative industries to inspire societal change.
Previous session recordings
Green Hour #1: Digital Sustainability
In this first session, we discussed the environmental challenges that come with working in a digital context and what steps film exhibitors can take to reduce their digital carbon footprint.
Green Hour #2: Sustainable Procurement
In this session, we discussed how to implement ethical, low-carbon procurement processes, and the organisational demands and benefits of responsible sourcing.
BFI FAN: Green Hour is delivered by Film Hub North on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.
For general queries about the event, or are interested in taking part in a future edition, please get in touch at: info@filmhubnorth.org.uk
