The Garden Education Center (GEC), in partnership with Greenwich Library, has launched the fifth annual Greenwich Youth Film Festival (GYFF) contest. Entries will be accepted until Monday, March 21. Films may be entered in five genres: Creative, Documentary, Experimental, Animation and Environmental Action. The contest is open to high school students living in or attending school in Fairfield County, Conn., Westchester County, N.Y. and the metro region. Students and teachers may visit https://fairchildatgec.org/gyff2016/ for more information and entry materials.
The top film submissions will be shown at the Greenwich Youth Film Festival on Sunday, April 24, at 1 p.m., at Cole Auditorium in the Greenwich Library. The student whose film is selected as the best overall entry across all genres will be awarded the Grand Prize. Winners of the other genres will each win an award. An award will be given to all second place genre winners, and an award will be given to all third place genre winners. An award will be given to the best First Year Film Student Submission, recognizing the newest young filmmakers, as well as an award given to the Best Film Poster.
In addition, a new prize has been added this year, the Fairchild Challenge Award, which will recognize a competing school, instead of a student. The Fairchild Challenge Award will grant $500 towards a school’s environmental projects, and is awarded to the school that earns the most points in the Environmental Action Category. Schools must pre-register to be eligible for this award at fairchildatgec.org.
Ed Brown
The GEC is also pleased to announce filmmaker Ed Brown has signed on to serve as a judge for the contest. Brown launched his career as filmmaker and activist after writing, directing, narrating, shooting and editing his first feature documentary film “Unacceptable Levels” which debuted in Hollywood in 2013.
After an accomplished career as the Lead Highlight Writer for The NFL Today and NCCA College Basketball, and producer on webcast shows for Michael Moore with The Awful Truth and MTV, Brown decided to shift into making films for important causes.
“Unacceptable Levels” (unacceptablelevels.com) has been highly acclaimed, appearing in 35 international film festivals, while winning four major awards along the way. Brown was names 2014 Filmmaker of the Year by Green Lifestyles Network. Brown also speaks extensively and has delivered a TEDx Talk on the hazards of health challenges posed by toxic chemicals.
He now is working on his next project, titled “A New Resistance.” This film takes on a single chemical that is the backbone of the GMO industry, glyphosate. His goal is to motivate people to create pressure on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate this toxic chemical from commerce. By engaging celebrity involvement, Ed impacts advocacy through awareness amongst their social media followers that spread the message to broader populations. He recently appeared with Jessica Alba in Washington D.C. to advocate against chemical toxicity.
About the Garden Education Center of Greenwich, Inc.
The GEC is a volunteer educational non-profit organization committed to enhancing the appreciation and enjoyment of nature through horticulture, conservation and the arts. Located at 130 Bible Street in Cos Cob, GEC has been serving the community since 1957.
About the Fairchild Challenge
The Fairchild Challenge is an award-winning, interdisciplinary, environmental science competition designed and initiated by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables (Miami), Florida, a sister organization to GEC of Greenwich. The program has been recognized as a benchmark for exceptional STEM education and for empowering students to become the next generation of scientists, researchers, and engaged citizens. In eleven years, the program has expanded to 125,000 students and includes a Global Showcase, in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
2015 Winners Jonathan Pasquarella and Tevon Costoso.
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